Exposure to passive smoking in childhood causes irreversible damage to the structure of children’s arteries. [s]HealthCanal[/s] reports that this is according to a study by [b]University of Tasmania[/b] and Finnish researchers published in the [b]European Heart Journal[/b] – it said the thickening of the arteries’ walls associated with being exposed to parents’ smoke, means that these children will be at greater risk of heart attacks and strokes in later life. The report says the study is the first to follow children through to adulthood in order to examine the association between exposure to parental smoking and increased carotid intima-media thickness – a measurement of the thickness of the innermost two layers of the arterial wall – in adulthood. It adds further strength to the arguments for banning smoking in areas where children may be present, such as cars.
Young smokers who have smoked more cigarettes have clear differences in their brains compared to lighter smokers. [s]Health24[/s] reports that this is according to a new study by [b]Edythe London from the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behaviour at UCLA and the David Geffen School of Medicine in Los Angeles[/b] who said: ‘While the results do not prove causation, they suggest that there are effects of cigarette exposure on brain structure in young smokers, with a relatively short smoking history.’ Among smokers, those who reported smoking more cigarettes tended to have a thinner insula, a region of the cerebral cortex involved in decision making.
[link url=http://www.healthcanal.com/child-health/48302-passive-smoking-adds-three-years-to-the-age-of-a-child%E2%80%99s-arteries.html]Full HealthCanal report[/link]
[link url=http://eurheartj.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2014/03/03/eurheartj.ehu049.full?sid=e6382c26-423f-4b2e-affe-e9d759cfa643]Research[/link]
[link url=http://www.health24.com/Lifestyle/Stop-smoking/News/Heavy-smoking-changes-youngsters-brains-20140304]Full Health24 report[/link]
[link url=http://www.semel.ucla.edu/category/common-subject-areas/substance-abuse]Research[/link]