Digest

Passive smoking increases risk of fertility problems and miscarriages

Women who breathed in secondhand smoke as children are more likely to face fertility problems or have a miscarriage, researchers say. Toxins in the smoke could have permanently damaged the women's bodies, causing the later problems.

Researchers stress that the findings further support restrictions on smoking. The researchers, led by Luke Peppone at the University of Rochester in New York, studied 4,800 women treated at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in New York. The women gave details of all pregnancies, attempts to conceive and miscarriages, as well as their history of smoking and breathing in secondhand smoke. Overall, 11 per cent of the women reported difficulty becoming pregnant, and about a third lost one or more babies, the researchers report in the journal Tobacco Control. A total of 40 percent reported prenatal pregnancy difficulty - either
losing a baby or struggling to fall pregnant in the first place. Women who remembered their parents smoking around them were 26 per cent more
likely to have had difficulty conceiving and those exposed to any secondhand smoke were 39 per cent more likely to have miscarried. Four out of five of the women said they were exposed to secondhand smoke at some point in their life and half grew up in a home with smoking parents...More

Source: Daily Mail, 05 December 2008

Link between tobacco smoke and behavioural problems in boys with asthma

According to researchers at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, boys with asthma who are exposed to secondhand smoke have higher degrees of hyperactivity, aggression, depression and other behavioral problems. In a study posted online ahead of print by the Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, said behavioural problems increase along with higher exposure levels, but they added even low levels of tobacco smoke may be detrimental to behavior. 'These findings should encourage us to make stronger efforts to prevent childhood exposure to tobacco smoke, especially among higher risk populations, such as children with asthma,' said Kimberly Yolton, Ph.D., lead author of the study and a researcher at the Children's
Environmental Health Center at Cincinnati Children's. 'Interestingly, although girls in the study were on average exposed to higher levels of tobacco smoke than boys, the exposure did not lead to an increase in behavioural problems among them, investigators said. In boys, however, behavioural problems increased about two fold with each doubling in their tobacco smoke exposure,' said Dr. Yolton. 'The largest increase we observed was in overall behavioral problems, but it was interesting that in addition to externalizing behaviours - like hyperactivity and aggression - we also saw an increase in internalizing behaviours, such as depression," explained Dr. Yolton....More

Source: Medilexicon, 05 December 2008

Smoking causes bladder cancer

The American Urological Association (AUA) has given smokers another good reason to quit: smoking causes bladder cancer. Only about 33 percent of people know that smoking is a leading risk factor for the disease, according to a new study published in The Journal of Urology, the official journal of the AUA. The American Cancer Society estimates that smokers are twice as likely to get bladder cancer as non-smokers. Bladder cancer is the fourth most common type of cancer in men and eighth most common in women. About 53,000 men and women are diagnosed with bladder cancer each year and about 14,000 die annually of the disease. In recent decades, there has been a steady increase in the incidence of bladder cancer. Along with smokers, people who work with dyes, metal, paints, leather, textiles and organic chemicals may be at a 20 to 25 percent higher risk. People who have chronic bladder infections may also be at higher risk....More

Source: Newswise Medical News, 17 November 2008

Smoking while pregnant harms baby's blood vessels

Women who smoke during pregnancy may cause permanent blood vessel damage in their children that may become evident as early as young adulthood and raise the risk for heart attack and stroke, Dutch investigators reported today. The study involved 732 young adults, born between 1970 and 1973, who were evaluated at around 30 years of age. Compared with young adults of mothers who did not smoke during pregnancy, young adults of mothers who did light up during pregnancy had much thicker walls of the carotid arteries in the neck that supply blood to the brain. Even if the mothers did not smoke during pregnancy, having a father who smoked during gestation was also associated with thicker neck or "carotid" arteries. The association was strongest when both parents smoked during pregnancy...More

Source: Reuters News, 20 November 2008

Smoking plus gene variant raises breast cancer risk

Women with a particular gene mutation linked to breast cancer may further raise their risk of the disease if they smoke, a study has found. The gene in question is known as the ataxia-telangiectasia, or A-T, gene. At least 1 percent of the population carries a mutation in
the gene, and women who carry mutated A-T have a higher-than-average risk of developing breast cancer. But until now it had not been known whether smoking increases this risk even more. Studies on smoking and breast cancer in the population as a whole have generally found little or no evidence that the habit contributes to the disease...More

Source: Reuters News, 18 November 2008

Help stop children smoking

As many as one in six school children who are regular smokers usually buy their cigarettes from vending machines and the British Heart Foundation estimates that in 2006, more than 46,000 children got their cigarettes through vending machines in England and Wales. With the age limit for buying cigarettes having been recently raised from 16 to 18, even more underage smokers may now be accessing cigarettes from vending machines. It remains far too easy for children to buy cigarettes from vending machines and it undermines every other measure aimed at stopping them from smoking. Most smokers start as children and smokers are twice as likely to have heart attacks as those that never start...More

Source: Prontefract and Castleford Express, 27 November 2008

Prenatal smoking can affect baby brain

High levels of prenatal smoking exposure modify sleep patterns that may have serious consequences for infant brain development, French
researchers said. Results indicate preterm infant born to mothers who smoked more than 10 cigarettes per day displayed disrupted sleep structure and sleep continuity, the study said. The study, published in the journal Sleep, found that newborns slept almost two hours less from 7 p.m. to 8 a.m. than controls who were born to non-smoking mothers. Their sleep was also more fragmented -- newborns born to smokers displayed more body movements and, as a result, more disturbed sleep...More

Source: redOrbit, 01 December 2008

Newborns exposed to maternal smoking more irritable

Previous studies have shown that babies exposed to tobacco in utero are more likely to have a low birth weight and are at increased risk for sudden infant death syndrome. Now new research by The Miriam Hospital reveals that these babies are also less likely to self-soothe and are more aroused and
excitable than newborns whose mothers did not smoke during pregnancy. Researchers from The Miriam Hospital's Centers for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine say early identification and targeted intervention efforts aimed at both infants and parents may help prevent possible disruption in early maternal-infant bonding and, ultimately, long-term adverse outcomes. The study is published online by the Journal of Pediatrics. ..More

Source: Science Daily, 02 December 2008

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		Passive smoking increases risk of fertility problems and miscarriages Women who breathed in secondhand smoke as children are more likely to face fertility problems or have a miscarriage, researchers say. Toxins in the smoke could have permanently damaged the women's bodies, causing the later problems. Researchers stress that the findings further support restrictions on smoking. The researchers, led by Luke Peppone at the University of Rochester in New York, studied 4,800 women treated at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in New York. The women gave details of all pregnancies, attempts to conceive and miscarriages, as well as their history of smoking and breathing in secondhand smoke. Overall, 11 per cent of the women reported difficulty becoming pregnant, and about a third lost one or more babies, the researchers report in the journal Tobacco Control. A total of 40 percent reported prenatal pregnancy difficulty - either losing a baby or struggling to fall pregnant in the first place. Women who remembered their parents smoking around them were 26 per cent more likely to have had difficulty conceiving and those exposed to any secondhand smoke were 39 per cent more likely to have miscarried. Four out of five of the women said they were exposed to secondhand smoke at some point in their life and half grew up in a home with smoking parents...More Source: Daily Mail, 05 December 2008 Link between tobacco smoke and behavioural problems in boys with asthma According to researchers at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, boys with asthma who are exposed to secondhand smoke have higher degrees of hyperactivity, aggression, depression and other behavioral problems. In a study posted online ahead of print by the Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, said behavioural problems increase along with higher exposure levels, but they added even low levels of tobacco smoke may be detrimental to behavior. 'These findings should encourage us to make stronger efforts to prevent childhood exposure to tobacco smoke, especially among higher risk populations, such as children with asthma,' said Kimberly Yolton, Ph.D., lead author of the study and a researcher at the Children's Environmental Health Center at Cincinnati Children's. 'Interestingly, although girls in the study were on average exposed to higher levels of tobacco smoke than boys, the exposure did not lead to an increase in behavioural problems among them, investigators said. In boys, however, behavioural problems increased about two fold with each doubling in their tobacco smoke exposure,' said Dr. Yolton. 'The largest increase we observed was in overall behavioral problems, but it was interesting that in addition to externalizing behaviours - like hyperactivity and aggression - we also saw an increase in internalizing behaviours, such as depression," explained Dr. Yolton....More Source: Medilexicon, 05 December 2008 Smoking causes bladder cancer The American Urological Association (AUA) has given smokers another good reason to quit: smoking causes bladder cancer. Only about 33 percent of people know that smoking is a leading risk factor for the disease, according to a new study published in The Journal of Urology, the official journal of the AUA. The American Cancer Society estimates that smokers are twice as likely to get bladder cancer as non-smokers. Bladder cancer is the fourth most common type of cancer in men and eighth most common in women. About 53,000 men and women are diagnosed with bladder cancer each year and about 14,000 die annually of the disease. In recent decades, there has been a steady increase in the incidence of bladder cancer. Along with smokers, people who work with dyes, metal, paints, leather, textiles and organic chemicals may be at a 20 to 25 percent higher risk. People who have chronic bladder infections may also be at higher risk....More Source: Newswise Medical News, 17 November 2008 Smoking while pregnant harms baby's blood vessels Women who smoke during pregnancy may cause permanent blood vessel damage in their children that may become evident as early as young adulthood and raise the risk for heart attack and stroke, Dutch investigators reported today. The study involved 732 young adults, born between 1970 and 1973, who were evaluated at around 30 years of age. Compared with young adults of mothers who did not smoke during pregnancy, young adults of mothers who did light up during pregnancy had much thicker walls of the carotid arteries in the neck that supply blood to the brain. Even if the mothers did not smoke during pregnancy, having a father who smoked during gestation was also associated with thicker neck or "carotid" arteries. The association was strongest when both parents smoked during pregnancy...More Source: Reuters News, 20 November 2008 Smoking plus gene variant raises breast cancer risk Women with a particular gene mutation linked to breast cancer may further raise their risk of the disease if they smoke, a study has found. The gene in question is known as the ataxia-telangiectasia, or A-T, gene. At least 1 percent of the population carries a mutation in the gene, and women who carry mutated A-T have a higher-than-average risk of developing breast cancer. But until now it had not been known whether smoking increases this risk even more. Studies on smoking and breast cancer in the population as a whole have generally found little or no evidence that the habit contributes to the disease...More Source: Reuters News, 18 November 2008 Help stop children smoking As many as one in six school children who are regular smokers usually buy their cigarettes from vending machines and the British Heart Foundation estimates that in 2006, more than 46,000 children got their cigarettes through vending machines in England and Wales. With the age limit for buying cigarettes having been recently raised from 16 to 18, even more underage smokers may now be accessing cigarettes from vending machines. It remains far too easy for children to buy cigarettes from vending machines and it undermines every other measure aimed at stopping them from smoking. Most smokers start as children and smokers are twice as likely to have heart attacks as those that never start...More Source: Prontefract and Castleford Express, 27 November 2008 Prenatal smoking can affect baby brain High levels of prenatal smoking exposure modify sleep patterns that may have serious consequences for infant brain development, French researchers said. Results indicate preterm infant born to mothers who smoked more than 10 cigarettes per day displayed disrupted sleep structure and sleep continuity, the study said. The study, published in the journal Sleep, found that newborns slept almost two hours less from 7 p.m. to 8 a.m. than controls who were born to non-smoking mothers. Their sleep was also more fragmented -- newborns born to smokers displayed more body movements and, as a result, more disturbed sleep...More Source: redOrbit, 01 December 2008 Newborns exposed to maternal smoking more irritable Previous studies have shown that babies exposed to tobacco in utero are more likely to have a low birth weight and are at increased risk for sudden infant death syndrome. Now new research by The Miriam Hospital reveals that these babies are also less likely to self-soothe and are more aroused and excitable than newborns whose mothers did not smoke during pregnancy. Researchers from The Miriam Hospital's Centers for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine say early identification and targeted intervention efforts aimed at both infants and parents may help prevent possible disruption in early maternal-infant bonding and, ultimately, long-term adverse outcomes. The study is published online by the Journal of Pediatrics. ..More Source: Science Daily, 02 December 2008 Link: