Smokers watch out!

Home Exposure to Tobacco Carcinogens High in Children of Smokers

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/11/101109183251.htm

ScienceDaily (Nov. 9, 2010) — Ninety percent of children who lived in a house where an adult smoked had evidence of tobacco-related carcinogens in their urine, according to research presented at the Ninth AACR Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research Conference, held from Nov 7-10 in Philadelphia.

The average amount of tobacco metabolites in children aged one month to 10 years old was 8 percent of what is found in a smoker, said the lead researcher Janet L. Thomas, Ph.D., assistant professor of behavioral medicine at the University of Minnesota.

"This finding is striking, because while all of the researchers involved in this study expected some level of exposure to carcinogens, the average levels were higher than what we anticipated," she said. For comparison, carcinogens found in the urine of adult non-smokers exposed to secondhand smoke are about 1 percent to 5 percent that of smokers.

"No one knows the long-term impact of cumulative exposure to these chemicals. It could prime the body in some way that leads to DNA changes in cells that might contribute to lung damage, and potentially lung cancer," Thomas said.

The researchers also found a direct correlation between the number of cigarettes one or more adults smoked in the house each day and tobacco metabolites in the children who lived there. There was also an association between childhood exposure to secondhand smoke and lower socioeconomic status, employment and parental education.

Additionally, black children had the highest levels of tobacco-related metabolites in their urine, even if their parent or parents smoked comparatively less.

"This suggests, as other researchers have found, that African-Americans metabolize tobacco-related chemicals differently," she said.

The researchers conducted this study to quantify tobacco-related carcinogens in children, with the hope that the children's parents might be open to banning smoking inside the home.

"Almost one third of young children in the United States live in a house with at least one smoker," Thomas said. "My concern is that parents and family members may not truly understand the risk they pose to these children."

The researchers took urine samples from 79 children who lived in a home where at least one parent smoked. They quantified total NNAL (a biomarker of NNK, which is a nitrosamine produced during tobacco curing and is a known carcinogen), as well as nicotine and cotinine, a metabolite of nicotine that stays longer in the body.

Ninety percent of the children had detectable levels of NNAL and nicotine in their urine; 95 percent had evidence of cotinine.

In addition, the researchers measured carbon monoxide levels in parents and asked about the number of cigarettes smoked per day and smoking restrictions in the home. NNAL levels were significantly lower in homes that had complete smoking restrictions and there was a correlation between cigarettes smoked per day and NNAL in their children.

"Based on these results, there is little doubt that total NNAL in the urine of children could be substantially reduced by home smoking restrictions," said Thomas. "We need to act now to ensure that all parents have the facts they need to make informed decisions to protect their families from this completely preventable health hazard."

Editor's Note: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

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Komen:

Merokok itu haram sebab kesan yang begitu buruk kepada manusia. Namun begitu, manusia masih lagi suka merokok. Kenapa merokok? Banyak sebab dan alasan yang diberi seperti:

1. Badan penat kalau tak merokok.
2. Tak boleh fokus kerja.
3. Kalau tak merokok akan demam

Jika difikirkan semua alasan itu tak logik lansung. Hanya orang yang tidak sukakan kebenaran sahaja yang akan kata alasan itu logik dan boleh diterima akal. Manakah salahnya masyarakat Malaysia tak tak kisah tentang perokok?

Pada pendapat saya, perokok ni kalau nak merokok, kalau nak rosakkan jantung dan paru-paru sendiri, kalau nak dapat kanser, silakanlah. Masalahnya di sini, apabila mereka ini merokok, secara sengaja atau tidak sengaja, mereka ini akan melibatkan orang lain sekali kerana asap rokok yang dihembus keluar.

Asap rokok ini pula sangatlah karsinogenik (penyebab kanser) berbanding dengan apa yang mereka sedut ke dalam paru-paru. Oleh itu, kesan merokok kepada perokok adalah kurang berbanding dengan orang yang berada di sekeliling mereka.

Kalau kita makan di gerai makan contohnya, pastinya akan ada perokok. Jika dilihat pada sikap dan gelagat perokok ini, mereka sebenarnya adalah sangat biadap dan tidak bertimbang rasa. Semasa memesan makanan dan sebelum makanan tiba mereka akan mula untuk merokok. Pada ketika itu, mereka tidak menghiraukan orang di sekeliling mereka dengan menghembuskan asap rokok ke atas, ke belakang, ke kiri ke kanan, asalkan asap rokok itu tidak dibawa angin ke arah mereka mahupun rakan-rakan yang duduk semeja dengan mereka. Ke manakah perginya asap rokok ini? Kat mana lagi jika bukan kepada orang lain yang sedang makan!

Yang peliknya apabila makanan sampai, mereka akan berhenti merokok dan makan. Semasa mereka makan tidak pula ada antara mereka yang merokok kerana hormat kat orang semeja yang sedang makan. Orang meja lain tidak dihiraukan. Begitulah sikap mereka ini. Pentingkan diri. Saya ulang sekali lagi 'kalau nak rokok duduk jauh-jauh dan bunuh diri sendiri sudah, jangan ganggu orang lain'.

Saya tidak ingin untuk menulis tentang kesan 'first hand smoke', 'second hand smoke' dan 'third hand smoke' di sini kerana kita semua tahu kesan asap rokok.

Kepada yang Muslim, jangan lupa 'Rokok itu HARAM'.