Tobacco-Free Marion County

GRASSROOTS NEWSLETTER

May-June 2006Volume 4  Number 6

 

Dear Members and Friends of TFMC,

CELEBRATE!  Arkansas has 2 new smokefree laws coming into effect on 21 July 2006.  The Clean Indoor Air Act (Act 8) prohibits smoking in enclosed public places and worksites across the state.  There are a few exceptions, but Marion County residents will soon be able to work, conduct our business, go out to eat, etc. without having to breathe secondhand smoke.  Remember, this law does not prohibit smokers, just smoking.  Please be supportive of co-workers that might use implementation of this new law as the reason to go ahead and quit.  Co-workers who once freely lit up on the job may have withdrawal symptoms of irritability and lapses of concentration, but these should subside within a week or two; your support and encouragement will increase the chances of a successful quit attempt. The UAMS College of Public Health staffs the free telephone QuitLine 1-866-NOW-QUIT to help any Arkansas resident kick the tobacco habit.  Other areas that have protected workers from secondhand smoke like this have seen immediate drops in heart attacks (30-40%) and diminished respiratory diseases, reproductive difficulties, and cancer risks.

 

TFMC staff is training to help local businesses comply with Act 8 and we’d love to discuss your workplace smoke free policy implementation planning; contact us at (870) 427-2620 or e-mail tfmc@marioncounty.com .  Also the Arkansas Division of Health has an information phone (800) 235-0002 operating and a website www.ARCleanAir.com .  

 

The 2nd law (Act 13) protects children under 6 years of age and 60 pounds by prohibiting smoking in vehicles when they are present and strapped into their safety seats.  Arkansas is the first state in the nation to enact this protection for our most vulnerable segment of the population, and we owe thanks to the elected officials who supported both Act 8 and Act 13.  I’d like to commit the rest of the newsletter to information from the Americans for Non-Smokers’ Rights website which was collected in October of 2005.  Those of you, who receive this as e-mail, please print out page 2 and tape up the “Health Effects of Secondhand Smoke on Children” for others to see.  Larger type and electronic copies are available upon request.

 

 

Tobacco-Free Marion County

PO Box 188

Pyatt, AR  72672

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Health Effects of Secondhand Smoke on Children

Children are significantly affected by secondhand smoke. Children's bodies are still developing, and exposure to the poisons in secondhand smoke puts them at risk of severe respiratory diseases and can hinder the growth of their lungs. Secondhand smoke is a known cause of low birth weight, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia, middle ear infection, and other diseases. The health effects of secondhand smoke exposure from conception through childhood can last a lifetime.

Low Birth Weight   Secondhand smoke is a known preventable cause of low birth weight, which contributes to infant mortality and health complications into adulthood. Secondhand smoke exposure reduces the birth weight of infants of nonsmoking mothers and contributes to additional reductions in birth weight among babies of smoking mothers.1

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)  Maternal smoking is the strongest risk factor leading to SIDS.2

Secondhand smoke is a risk factor contributing to SIDS. Infants who die from SIDS tend to have higher concentrations of nicotine in their lungs than do control children, regardless of whether smoking is reported.3

Cognitive Impairments   Secondhand smoke exposure impairs a child's ability to learn. It is neurotoxic even at extremely low levels. More than 21.9 million children are estimated to be at risk of reading deficits because of secondhand smoke. Higher levels of exposure to secondhand smoke are also associated with greater deficits in math and visuospatial reasoning.4

Maternal prenatal smoking contributes to the development of antisocial behavior and attention-deficit hyperactive disorder symptoms in the mother's offspring.5

Respiratory Problems  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has reported that secondhand smoke exposure increases the risk of lower respiratory tract infections such as bronchitis and pneumonia. The EPA estimates that between 150,000 and 300,000 annual cases of lower respiratory tract infections in infants and young children up to 18 months of age are attributable to secondhand smoke exposure. Of these cases, between 7,500 and 15,000 result in hospitalization.6

Infants with mothers who smoke are 50 percent more likely to be hospitalized with a respiratory infection during their first year when compared to infants with nonsmoking mothers. Infants whose mothers smoke in the same room have a 56 percent higher risk of being hospitalized compared to infants whose mothers smoke in a separate room. There is a 73 percent higher risk if mothers smoke while holding their infants and a 95 percent higher risk if mothers smoke while feeding their infants.7

Asthma  Asthma attacks are perhaps the most well-known health effect of secondhand smoke exposure among children. Secondhand smoke exposure increases the frequency of episodes and the severity of symptoms in asthmatic children. The EPA estimates that 200,000 to 1,000,000 asthmatic children have their condition worsened by exposure to secondhand smoke.8

Exposure to secondhand smoke is associated with increased asthma severity and worsened lung function in children with asthma.9

Secondhand smoke exposure is associated with increased respiratory-related school absenteeism among children, especially those with asthma.10

Maternal and grandmaternal smoking may increase the risk of childhood asthma. Relative to children of never-smokers, children whose mothers smoked throughout the pregnancy have an elevated risk of asthma in the first five years of life. Children whose mothers quit smoking prior to the pregnancy show no increased risk.11

Repercussions on Adult Health   Not only does in utero and childhood secondhand smoke exposure cause decreased lung function and asthma in children, but such exposure is also responsible for poor lung function and respiratory disease in adults. Men who report postnatal secondhand smoke exposure and women who report prenatal exposure are more likely to have respiratory problems as adults.12,13

Secondhand tobacco smoke exposure raises adolescents' risk of metabolic syndrome - a disorder associated with excessive belly fat that increases one's chances of heart disease, stroke, and type II diabetes.14

The level of secondhand smoke a child is exposed to is directly proportional to the likelihood of the child becoming a smoker as an adolescent or an adult.15

REFERENCES

1.  Dejmek, J.; Solansky, I.; Podrazilova, K.; Sram, R., "The exposure of nonsmoking and smoking mothers to environmental tobacco smoke during different gestational phases and fetal growth," Environmental Health Perspectives 110(6): 601-606, June 2002.

2.  Woodward, A. and Laugesen M., "How many deaths are caused by secondhand cigarette smoke?" Tobacco Control, 10: 383 - 388, December 2001.

3.  McMartin, K.I.; Platt, M.S.; Hackman, R.; Klein, J.; Smialek, J.E.; Vigorito, R.; Koren, G., "Lung tissue concentrations of nicotine in sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)," Journal of Pediatrics 140(2): 205-209, February 2002.

4.  Yolton, K. et al., "Exposure to Environmental Tobacco Smoke and Cognitive Abilities of U.S. Children and Adolescents," Environmental Health Perspectives, 113(1): 98-103.

5.  Button, T.M.M.; Thapar, A.; and McGuffin, P., "Relationship between antisocial behavior, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and maternal prenatal smoking," British Journal of Psychiatry (2005), 187, 155-160.

6.  [n.a.], "Fact Sheet: Respiratory Health Effects of Passive Smoking," U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, April 2004.

7.  Blizzard, L.; Ponsonby, A.; Dwyer, T.; Venn, A.; Cochrane, J.A., "Parental smoking and infant respiratory infection: how important is not smoking in the same room with the baby?" American Journal of Public Health 93(3): 482-488, March 2003.

8.  [n.a.], "Fact Sheet: Respiratory Health Effects of Passive Smoking," Environmental Protection Agency, April 2004.

9.  Mannino, D.M.; Homa, D.M.; Redd, S.C., "Involuntary smoking and asthma severity in children: data from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey," CHEST 122(2): 409-415, August 2002.

10.  Gilliland, F.D.; Berhane, K.; Islam, T.; Wenten, M.; Rappaport,E.; Avol, E.; Gauderman, W.J.; McConnell, R.; Peters, J.M., "Environmental tobacco smoke and absenteeism related to respiratory illness in schoolchildren," American Journal of Epidemiology 157(1): 861-869, May 15, 2003.

11.  Yu-Fhen, Li. et al., "Maternal and Grandmaternal Smoking Pattern Are Associated With Early Childhood Asthma," Chest, 127(4): 1232, 2005.

12.  Svanes, C.; Omenaas, E.; Jarvis, D.; Chinn, S.; Gulsvik, A.; Burney, P., "Parental smoking in childhood and adult obstructive lung disease: results from the European Community Respiratory Health Survey," Thorax 59(4): 295-302, April 1, 2004.

13.  Skorge, T.D., et. al., "The Adult Incidence of Asthma and Respiratory Symptoms by Passive Smoking In Utero or in Childhood," American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Vol. 172, pp. 61-66, April 2005. Abstract available at http://ajrccm.atsjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/172/1/61?etoc. Accessed on July 27, 2005.

14.  Weitzman, M., et. al, "Tobacco Smoke Exposure Is Associated With the Metabolic Syndrome in Adolescents," Circulation 2005, doi:10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.104.520650. Abstract available at http://circ.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/CIRCULATIONAHA.104.520650v1. Downloaded on August 3, 2005.

15.  Becklake, M.R.,; Ghezzo, H.; Ernst, P., "Childhood predictors of smoking in adolescence: a follow-up study of Montreal schoolchildren," CMAJ 173(4): 377-379, August 16, 2005. Available at http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/reprint/173/4/377.