More Reasons Not to Smoke.

More Reasons Not to Smoke. * Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder attention deficit hyperactivity disorder(ADHD), formerly called hyperkinesis or minimal brain dysfunction, a chronic, neurologically based syndrome characterized by any or all of three types of behavior: hyperactivity, distractibility, and impulsivity. (ADHD Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)DefinitionAttention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a developmental disorder characterized by distractibility, hyperactivity, impulsive behaviors, and the inability to remain focused on tasks or ) is a chronicdisorder marked by decreased attention and impulse control and increasedmotor activity with onset in early childhood. There is evidence for bothgenetic and environmental factors. Studies in rodents have found anassociation between chronic in utero exposure to nicotine andhyperactivity. In humans smoking causes fetal hypoxia hypoxiaCondition in which tissues are starved of oxygen. The extreme is anoxia (absence of oxygen). There are four types: hypoxemic, from low blood oxygen content (e.g., in altitude sickness); anemic, from low blood oxygen-carrying capacity (e.g. , and nicotine isfound in higher concentrations in the fetus than in the smoking mother. This study compared the maternal smoking histories of 140 boysdiagnosed with ADHD with those of 120 boys without the disorder. The twogroups differed significantly: 22% of the ADHD children's mothersreported having smoked during the index pregnancy, versus only 8% of thenormal children's mothers. This difference remained even afteradjustment for socioeconomic status, parental IQ, and parental ADHDstatus. The children of nonsmoking mothers also had IQs that averagedabout 10 points above the others'. -- American Journal of Psychiatry The American Journal of Psychiatry (AJP) is the most widely read psychiatric journal in the world. It covers topics on biological psychiatry, treatment innovations, forensic, ethical, economic, and social issues. , September 1996 * Many children are exposed to smoking by adults in theirhouseholds. Studies have linked environmental tobacco smoke environmental tobacco smoke (ETS/passive smoke),n the gaseous by-product of burning tobacco products, including but not limited to commercially manufactured cigarettes and cigars; contains toxic elements harmful to the health of adults and children (ETS ETS Educational Testing Service (nonprofit private educational testing and measurement organization)ETS Emergency Telecommunications ServiceETS Electronic Trading SystemETS Engineering (&)Technical Services ) withotitis media, asthma and other conditions. In this recent study, researchers attempted to estimate the numberof children adversely affected by involuntary smoking. Studies publishedafter 1965 were meta-analyzed to compute a pooled risk ratio forpediatric pediatric/pe��di��at��ric/ (pe?de-at��rik) pertaining to the health of children. pe��di��at��ricadj.Of or relating to pediatrics. disorders caused by smoking. Based on the most conservativeassumptions, ETS produces: 2 to 13% of the cases of otitis media (middle ear infections) 1 to26% of the need for tympanostomy (ear) tubes 16 to 24% of tonsillectomyand adenoidectomy Tonsillectomy and AdenoidectomyDefinitionTonsillectomy and adenoidectomy (T & A) are surgical procedures to remove the tonsils from the back of the mouth or adenoids from the back of the nasal cavity—both are are part of the lymphatic cases 8 to 13% of asthma cases 10 to 16% ofchildren's coughs 12 to 20% of lower respiratory tract infections15 to 23% of hospitalizations and deaths caused by respiratory tractillnesses in children under age 5. Some 284 to 360 children die each year because of illnesses andfire-related injuries attributable to others' smoking. "Theuse of tobacco products by adults has an enormous adverse impact on thehealth of children," the researchers conclude. They suggest thatchildren should be excluded from designated smoking areas, andorganizations that cater to children should guarantee them smoke-freeenvironments. The researchers would go farther: potential exposure toETS should be one of many factors considered in custody cases, they say,and continued exposure to household ETS for asthmatic children shouldconstitute neglect or abuse. -- Pediatrics, April 1996 * Doctors have known for some time that smoking during pregnancyhas several negative effects on fetal and infant development. Among themare a reduction in birth weight and an increased risk of sudden infantdeath syndrome sudden infant death syndrome(SIDS) or crib death,sudden, unexpected, and unexplained death of an apparently healthy infant under one year of age (usually between two weeks and eight months old). (SIDS SIDSsudden infant death syndrome. SIDSabbr.sudden infant death syndromeSIDS,n See syndrome, sudden infant death. ). Now researchers have also discovered a linkbetween maternal smoking during pregnancy and mental retardation in thebaby. The study, published in the journal Pediatrics, looked at 221mentally retarded children and 400 normal children. The children'smothers answered questions about whether -- and how much -- they hadsmoked during pregnancy. Smoking was defined as having at least fivecigarettes per week. The researchers found a 50 percent greater incidence of mentalretardation among the children of mothers who smoked during pregnancy,and they found that the more a woman smoked when she was expecting, thegreater the chance of retardation in her baby. The study didn'tprove a causal relationship between maternal smoking and retardation.(It's possible that postnatal exposure to smoke, or some otherfactor, is responsible for the association.) --American Baby, September 1996