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Secondhand Smoke
Research
Secondhand smoke tied to high blood pressure in kids
A new study indicates that children who live with a smoking parent are more likely to have high blood pressure than those that do not. Researchers examined data collected from 4,236 five and six year old German children and their parents to determine if a relationship existed between parental smoking status and children’s blood pressure. They found that when controlling for other factors related to cardiovascular health, such as birth weight and body mass index, children exposed to secondhand smoke had higher systolic and diastolic blood pressure than those that were not exposed. Hypertensive children often continue to have high blood pressure into adulthood, putting them at risk for poor cardiovascular health; therefore, reducing exposure to risk factors like secondhand smoke is important. Click here to read more, or read the study abstract, published in the journal Circulation.
Environmental tobacco smoke in relation to bladder cancer risk - the Shanghai Bladder Cancer Study
A new study published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention indicates that exposure to secondhand smoke is associated with the development of bladder cancer. Researchers used interviews and urine-based assays to assess history of secondhand smoke exposure as well as the presence of two enzymes involved in activating and detoxifying tobacco carcinogens among 195 bladder cancer patients and 261 controls in Shanghai, China. They found that those who were exposed to high levels of tobacco smoke were three times as likely to have bladder cancer compared to those who were not exposed at all. This increased risk was mostly seen among those who had the at-risk genetic trait of the activation and detoxification enzymes. The results suggest that reducing secondhand smoke exposure among children and genetically susceptible individuals may be important in preventing bladder cancer. Click here to read more.
Smokers' former homes may retain tobacco toxins
A new study shows that toxic tobacco residue remains on surfaces in homes even after they have been vacant for two months, cleaned, and repainted. In order to determine if tobacco residue, or “thirdhand smoke” remained in smokers’ homes after they moved out, researchers measured nicotine levels in the homes of 100 smokers and 50 non-smokers, sampling dust, air, home surfaces, participants’ fingers and children’s urine. Once the previous residents moved out, samples were taken again if the new residents were non-smokers, for a total of 25 former homes of smokers and 15 former homes of non-smokers. Analysis showed that although the levels of dust, surface, and air nicotine decreased after the change in occupancy, there were higher levels of nicotine in dust and on surfaces and participants’ fingers in the homes formerly inhabited by smokers. While the health effects of thirdhand smoke have yet to be confirmed, this study indicates that new occupants of homes where smokers lived are exposed to thirdhand smoke, especially infants and children. Read more here, or click here to read the full study, published in Tobacco Control.
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Reports
ANRF's updated smokefree lists and maps now online
The Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation is pleased to announce the January 2011 quarterly update to the lists and maps of U.S. municipalities and states with smoke-free laws now in effect. The highlights include thirteen brand new local laws, a couple strengthened laws, South Dakota’s newly-enacted law, and more. All data shown are as of January 2, 2011. See the full lists here.
State: Smoking ban has fewer employees exposed to secondhand smoke (NC)
According to a press release from North Carolina’s Department of Health and Human Services, the state’s smoke-free indoor air law has helped reduce the number of people exposed to secondhand smoke by nearly half between 2008 and 2010. A study by the state’s Division of Public Health also demonstrated that air quality in restaurants and bars improved by 89% since the law went into effect on January 2, 2010. Compliance with the law has steadily improved over the course of the year, with 538 complaints received the first month the law started, declining to 37 by November 2010. Click here for more information. Each week, data are posted on the NC DHHS website on the status of enforcement actions in response to non-compliance with the North Carolina Smoke-Free Restaurants and Bars Law. Click here to access the data.
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