Grandchildren of smokers at risk

The London Sunday Times ^ | 4/09/05 | Not Listed

[paulat]

Grandchildren of smokers at risk

NEW research suggests women who smoke while pregnant are putting their grandchildren as well as their children at risk, writes Jonathan Leake. The study suggests that some of the chemicals in smoke can permanently alter the DNA of those exposed to it in ways that can be inherited by smokers’ children, grandchildren and possibly subsequent generations too.

The researchers analysed asthma rates in both the children and grandchildren of women who smoked during pregnancy.

They found the grandchildren of such women had 2.1 times the normal risk of developing asthma. The children of women who smoked in pregnancy were 1.5 times more likely to develop asthma.

Dr Frank Gilliland of the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California said: “These findings indicate smoking could have a long-term impact on a family’s health that has never before been realised.”

In Britain about a quarter of all women smoke, with the proportion rising among younger women.

Gilliland and his colleagues studied 338 children who developed asthma before their fifth birthdays, comparing them with 570 youngsters without the condition.

They found children whose mothers and grandmothers both smoked had the highest risk, with a likelihood of developing asthma 2.6 times higher than normal. The research will be published in Chest, a medical journal.

[Netizen]

They might want to check to see what these people use to heat their homes.

Wood burning stoves seem to be a large contributer to asthma. I hadn't realized that until I heard a doctor of FNC talk about it. My nephews suffer from it primarily in the winter months and they do have a wood burning stove in their house.

[Gabz]

Um..show me the science, toots.

EXACTLY. At best the most they can say is that smoking while pregnant MIGHT hurt the child and they can't even be that strong when referring to grandmothers.

The few people I knew while growing up that had asthma had non-smoking parents. And the majority of kids I see nowadays with it not only have non-smoking parents, they live practically antiseptic lives.

[SteveMcKing]

The points you make are very good. Mine are equally true.

The sum total of our discussion is abstract and useless... like this study.

[Gabz]

.........abstract and useless... like this study.

Sums things up quite nicely!

[Mike Darancette]

And the demon weed shall curse you unto the third generation.

[RasterMaster]

Let's say I could get a government grant and tweak the results to say that "experts" cause cancer. Perhaps this is jumping the gun, so to speak, but isn't it now time to ban the so-called "experts"? Shouldn't we declare that second-hand "experts" can put others at risk? Therefore, "experts" should be banned from public places, even though their use is still 'legal'?

[supercat]

Statistical homeopathy. The weaker the apparent causal link between two correlated phenomena, the stronger the imputed link.

To illustrate, suppose a particular factory uses some chemical which is suspected of causing Syndrome Q. If the incidence of SyQ is much higher among factory workers than among the population at large, that would suggest there might be a causal relationship.

Suppose, however, that the incidence is higher not only among those who actually work in the factory, but also among family members. That would seem to suggest the causal mechanism was so powerful that people didn't even need to work in the factory to be affected.

Now suppose that the incidence was higher not only among the families of factory workers, but also among those who ever visited with the factory workers. That would seem to suggest something more potent still...

Or else it would suggest that perhaps the implied causal relationship doesn't really exist.

[Lovergirl]

Smoked and drank coffee while pregnant. All 3 kids are alive and well. Youngest is 27. The powers that be need TO LEAVE US ALONE. I'm going to have a cigarette now.

[freepatriot32]

Do you believe they are trying this again? I know the retro movement is big in america but damn.Does anyone remeber the "scientist/whores" that said the same tihng about lsd in the 60s when they were tryingot scare people away from it they said it broke dna strands so they parents were at risk of passing on birth defects to thier kids.Then in the late 70s and early 80 s all of the "scientist/whores" admitted they faked the results becasue the federal goverment PAYED them to release those results.I am absolutly certian beyond a shadow of a doubt that that is whats going on here.Hell it might even be some ofthe same "scientists/whores" that did the lsd trials in the mid 60s

[SheLion]

The researchers analysed asthma rates in both the children and grandchildren of women who smoked during pregnancy.

I smoked before, during and after my pregnancy, and my daughter never ever had asthma!

Smoke and the Asthma Epidemic: A Reality Check

They found children whose mothers and grandmothers both smoked had the highest risk, with a likelihood of developing asthma 2.6 times higher than normal. The research will be published in Chest, a medical journal.

My whole family smoked.  There isn't one case of asthma among the lot.

[Lazamataz]

Grandchildren of smokers at risk

Oh my frickin' G-d.

They gotta be kidding me.

I bet Isaac Newton is at risk from contemporary smokers, too.

[Lazamataz]

Therefore, smoking causes mobile homes. So, by extension, smoking causes tornadoes.

Tornados are thought to be related to global warming.

Ergo, smoking causes global warming.

[Kozak]

Therefore, smoking causes mobile homes.

Confusing correlation with causation.
I think owning a mobile home leads to smoking.../sarcasm

[SheLion]

GALLERY OF FAMOUS SMOKERS

I doubt if many of the grandchildren of these famous people had asthma!

[appalachian_dweller]

Hi Gabz. Good to see you.

>> More kids have asthma now with smoking rates at less than 1/4 of the population - relatively few had asthma back when more than 50% of the population smoked <<

Exactly right. The current generation of wimps is raising and even wimpier generation. While we're getting softer, the rest of the world is getting tougher.

If it doesn't change, this country won't fare well in the next world war.

[Gabz]

Scary, isn't it?

[metesky]

Bull Sh!t!

[paulat]

Don't yell at me...yell at the London Sunday Times....

[Mears]

I have a picture of myself with a cigarette in one hand and a scotch in the other---New Years Eve----1962---My second child was born 6 weeks later.

No asthma,no bronchitis,no nothin'. He's a big guy now with kids of his own who are also very healthy.

Decaf coffee was out of the question---I drank gallons of regular and no one told me not to.

I did have to watch my sodium intake,though. Evil stuff,salt!!!!! LOL

[Mears]

Experts cause extreme angst----no one could argue with that theory.