A friend forwarded me an article from Baby Center titled: “Secondhand smoke hurts kids’ arteries“. The information was published in the American Heart Association, news release, June 5, 2007 and full details of the study can be found in the June 5 issue of the journal “Circulation”.

It is common knowledge that nicotine and children don’t mix. However, it seems that the real awareness of this knowledge doesn’t really sink in fully because we are often exposed to environmental pollutants on a daily basis and heck, what’s another one?

Well, it matters if it is something that you have control over.

What the study found was that “even minor exposure to secondhand smoke can harm the cardiovascular system of children”. Based on the findings, “children with the highest cotinine [a biomarker for nicotine] levels had significantly reduced brachial artery endothelial function — a measure of arterial health. Endothelial dysfunction impairs blood vessels’ ability to dilate.” This occurs even in children with modest exposure to tobacco smoke, which supports the argument for providing smoke-free environments for children at home and in public places.

Baby Center recommends:

If you’re a smoker, the best advice is to quit smoking. If you can’t do it for your own health, do it for your kids’. Children who are exposed to secondhand smoke are at greater risk for developing respiratory problems, ear infections, and a host of other health problems.

If kicking the habit isn’t possible, smoke as far away from your children as possible, in a wide-open outdoor space. Don’t allow visitors to smoke in your home or around your children, and limit your children’s exposure to smoke at other homes they visit.

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