American Heart Association Recommends Zero Tolerance Approach to Kids ’ Secondhand Smoke Exposure

“Photo” by Andrew Pons is licensed under CC0. For the most part, it is widely accepted to be true that smoking is unhealthy for you. There is research behind it that has shown it can cause at least 12 types of cancer and many other chronic diseases like stroke, pneumonia, periodontitis and more. Even more recently, research has shown it’s not just smokers who are impacted by smoking, those who inhale secondhand smoke are just as at risk for negative consequences like middle ear disease and lower respiratory illness in children, and stroke and lung cancer in adults. According to a graphic released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the five states in our region make up the medium to high percentage of smokers: New Mexico: 17.5% – 21.3% population smokes Texas: 13.6% – 17.4% population smokes Oklahoma: 17.5% – 21.3% population smokes Arkansas: 21.4% – 25.2% population smokes Louisiana: 21.4% – 25.2% population smokes Recently, the American Heart Association announced its recommendation for children to avoid any and all types of secondhand smoke. “Parents should consider making their children’s environment smoke-free because cigarette smoke exposure is harmful to children’s long-term heart health and may shorten life expectancy,” statement panel chair Dr. Geetha Raghuveer, a pediatric cardiologist, said in an AHA news release. This is a first. While it seems obvious to limit exposure to secondhand ...
Source: Network News - Category: Databases & Libraries Authors: Tags: Public Health Source Type: news