Secondhand Smoke
Research
Relation of prenatal smoking exposure and use of psychotropic medication up to young adulthood
According to a longitudinal study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, exposure to smoke in utero is associated with psychotropic medication use in children. Researchers studied a birth cohort between 1987 and 2007 to determine the effect of maternal smoking on subsequent prescription drug use in children. The results show that 13.6% of children exposed to more than ten cigarettes per day in utero were on psychotropic drugs, such as antidepressants or stimulants, compared to 8.3% of unexposed children. In light of the findings, the researchers believe that parents who smoke should be educated on the potential harm to their children and that doctors should watch for mental health problems in young patients of parents who smoked while pregnant. Click here to read more and read the study abstract here.
Relationship of maternal snuff use and cigarette smoking with neonatal apnea
Maternal use of snuff while pregnant is associated with disturbed cardiorespiratory control in infants. Researchers examined a birth cohort that included infants’ whose mothers used snuff and mothers who did not use tobacco to determine the effect of nicotine exposure on apnea (brief involuntary pauses in breathing) in newborns. Results show that the newborns of mothers who used snuff while pregnant were at a greater risk for apnea compared to babies born to women who did not use tobacco. The study suggests that snuff or nicotine replacement therapy cannot be considered a risk-free alternative to smoking while pregnant. Read more here and read the study abstract published in Pediatrics here.
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Reports
Colleges tell smokers, 'You're not welcome here'
As college students return to school this fall, more campuses than ever will be smoke-free or tobacco-free. During the past year alone, over 120 campuses have gone smoke-free, and as of July 1, over 500 colleges had implemented 100% smoke-free or tobacco-free campus policies. Click here to read an article that explores the history of this trend, and highlights the stories of campuses that are successfully adopting these policies. Working on a smoke-free or tobacco-free campus policy this year? Click here for a tobacco-free campus guide from the Non-Smokers’ Rights Association (NSRA).
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State Policy
Calif. Governor signs smoke-free rental housing bill (CA)
California Governor Jerry Brown has signed a bill that enables landlords to ban smoking both inside and outside their rental properties. The bill is designed to give tenants more smoke-free housing options and prevent secondhand smoke from seeping into units through windows, doors, and shared ventilation systems. The law will go into effect on January 1, 2012. Read more here.
Analyses of the impact of Ohio's Smoke-free Workplace Act (OH)
The Ohio Department of Health has released a report that examines the effects of the 2007 Smoke-Free Workplace Act, a law that requires all public places to be smoke-free in order to protect workers and the public. Since the law has been in place, heart attack rates have dropped, and neither restaurants nor bars have experienced any economic impact or decrease in business. Click here to read the Ohio Department of Health’s press release, read the executive summary, or to access a full copy of the report.
Oklahoma restaurants can get paid for going smoke free (OK)
The Oklahoma State Health Department is offering a rebate to restaurants that go smoke-free in an attempt to reduce restaurant employees’ and customers’ secondhand smoke exposure. The State Health Commissioner Dr. Terry Cline hopes that this rebate will give restaurant owners the impetus to convert smoking rooms within their restaurants into smoke-free locations. The rebate program allows restaurant owners to recoup half of their capitalized expenditures for the construction of smoking rooms that were built between 2003 and 2010, provided that their dining establishment is 100% smoke-free by January 1, 2013. Read more here.
Lawmakers delay enforcement of indoor hookah ban (UT)
State officials in Utah have delayed the inclusion of hookah in the Indoor Clean Air Act until they have more time to consider the implications of the law. The Utah Department of Health had recently amended the Utah Indoor Clean Air Act to ban hookah smoking in indoor spaces, but there has been disagreement in the legislature as to whether the department of health has the authority to change the state’s smoke-free policy. Leaders of the department of health are presenting scientific evidence to lawmakers to help resolve the question of whether the smoke-free policy should address hookah use. Although the ban on hookah smoking was originally set to begin this month, the implementation of the new rule is being delayed until a resolution is reached. Read more here.
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