Secondhand Smoke

Research

Secondhand smoke linked to diabetes
A new study from the journal Diabetes Care demonstrates that both smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke are associated with an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The study used data from the Nurses’ Health Study, which followed 100,526 women for 24 years, to determine if there were associations between smoking, exposure to secondhand smoke, and diabetes incidence. After controlling for other diabetes risk factors, it was found that women who smoked were at the greatest risk of developing diabetes (98% higher risk for those smoking at least 25 cigarettes per day and 39% higher risk for those smoking 1-14 per day, compared to nonsmokers who were not exposed to secondhand smoke). Former smokers and nonsmokers who were exposed to secondhand smoke also were at an increased diabetes risk. The study cannot prove a causal relationship between smoking or secondhand smoke exposure and diabetes, only that there is an association between them. Click here to read more, or click here to read the study abstract.

Secondhand smoke tied to higher birth defect risk
The results of a recent meta-analysis indicate that secondhand smoke exposure during pregnancy increases the risk of stillbirth and birth defects. Researchers in the United Kingdom reviewed nineteen studies, pooling the odds ratios to measure the effects of secondhand smoke exposure on spontaneous abortion, perinatal and neonatal death, stillbirth, and birth defects. The results showed that while secondhand smoke exposure was not associated with spontaneous abortion or perinatal and neonatal death, smoke-exposed women were 23% more likely to experience stillbirth and 13% more likely to have a child with a birth defect. The authors say that it is important to prevent exposure to secondhand smoke in women before and during pregnancy, since it is not known exactly how and when these adverse outcomes originate. Read more here, or read the study abstract, presented in Pediatrics.

Maternal smoking and congenital heart defects in the Baltimore-Washington Infant Study
A new study published in the journal Pediatrics shows that smoking in the first trimester of pregnancy puts a mother’s offspring at risk for certain congenital heart defects (CHDs). Researchers used data from the Baltimore-Washington Infant Study, a population-based case-control study, to assess maternal self-reported smoking status during the first trimester and diagnosis of CHD among their children born between 1981 and 1989. The results indicate that children born to mothers who smoked during their first trimester were more likely than children whose mothers did not smoke to have several specific types of CHD. The study adds to the body of evidence linking smoking during pregnancy to birth defects, emphasizing the importance of smoking cessation interventions for pregnant women. Click here to read the study abstract.

Passive smoking 'raises breast cancer risk'
According to a large new study, secondhand smoke exposure was associated with a 32% excess risk of breast cancer among postmenopausal women. The study followed 79,990 women aged 50 to 79 enrolled in the Women’s Health Initiative Observational Study for an average of 10.3 years to investigate the association between active and passive smoking and invasive breast cancer. The findings indicated that overall, smokers had a 16% increased chance of developing breast cancer compared to nonsmokers, with a 35% increase in risk among women who smoked for fifty years or more. Former smokers had an elevated risk of breast cancer for up to twenty years after quitting. In addition, nonsmokers who were exposed to secondhand smoke over the course of many years were at 32% increased risk of developing the disease compared to nonsmokers who were not exposed as extensively. This study adds to the body of literature that links active and passive smoking to the development of breast cancer, although the association with passive smoking still needs to be confirmed by further research. Read more here, or read the study abstract, published in the British Medical Journal.

Secondhand smoke raises the stakes in America's casinos
A new study shows that levels of fine particulate matter and particulate polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PPAHs), pollutants associated with tobacco-related cancers, exceed World Health Organization guidelines in more than nine out of ten smoking casinos. Researchers sampled air in 66 casinos where smoking is permitted and three smoke-free facilities to compare levels of the two pollutants. They found that people working in or patronizing casinos that allow smoking were exposed to ten times the pollutant levels of those in smoke-free casinos, and that ventilation and air cleaning systems did not effectively reduce levels of these pollutants. In the United States, 88% of commercial casinos and almost all tribal casinos permit smoking in their facilities. Click here to read more. The study will be published in the journal Environmental Research.

Acceptability of testing children for tobacco-smoke exposure: A national parent survey
A new study published in Pediatrics indicates that a majority of parents want their children to be tested for tobacco smoke exposure during doctor visits, regardless of smoking status. To test the acceptability of tobacco-smoke exposure testing, researchers surveyed 477 parents, asking them whether they thought their children should be tested for tobacco smoke exposure as part of their primary care visits. They found that 60.1% of parents sampled thought children should be tested; among smokers, 62.0% thought children should be tested. Several factors related to the parent’s characteristics were associated with wanting testing, including lower educational level, allowing smoking inside the home, being female, and being a racial minority. The results suggest that parental smoking status is unlikely to be a barrier to testing children for secondhand smoke exposure. Read the abstract of the study here.

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