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Passive Smoking Develops Neuro Behavioral Disorders in Children: HSPH

Passive Smoking which is also called as second hand smoke, is the inhalation of smoke from tobacco products used by others. Smoking is not only dangerous to the people who are doing it but also to the people who are around them and are forced to inhale that smoke, who are called as passive smokers.

Taking in to consideration the health risks of the second hand smoke the government has already banned smoking in public places. Now, the latest researches reported that smoking inside the houses makes the kids passive smokers of the smoke and hence resulting in serious health issues.

According to the latest studies published in the August Edition of journal Pediatrics, children who are exposed to second hand smoke had 50 percent greater chances of developing mental and behavioral issues and are more likely to smoke in the later years.

The researches from the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH), found that even in developed countries like United States there are about 5 million children living in the homes where they are exposed to second hand smoke, which increases the risk of developing asthma, ear infections and sudden infant death syndrome.

The research was based on the data collected from the responses of parents or guardians of more than 55,00 children of 11 years and even younger. The research found the following disorders in the children who are exposed to second hand smoke.

  • Behavioral and mental health problems.
  • Twice as likely to develop neuro behavioral disorders.
  • Attention deficit disorder(ADD)
  • Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder(ADHD)
  • Learning disabilities
  • More likely to smoke when they grow up when compared to children from non smoking homes.

There is a strong association between the second hand smoking and the neurobehavioral disorders, says the experts and they also found that eight percent of the children exposed to smoke had learning disabilities, and 6 percent have ADD and ADHD.

Other researches:

Besides the latest study, there are a couple of previous researches which showed similar reports.

  • A study published in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, found that children and teenagers who are exposed to second hand smoke are at a greater risk of suffering from depression and anxiety.
  • Another study conducted by Washington University School of Medicine found, that child passive smokers are more likely to become smokers in their later ages.
  • In contrast, another study found that children between the age group of 8-13, who lived with at least one smoker and find smoking to be unpleasant are less likely to pick up smoking in their later ages.

Considering the harmful effects of passive smoking on public health, government has banned smoking in public places, now its our turn to consider the latest reports and to stop smoking inside the houses to save our kid’s health.