hehe! Probably! 
Posted on 05/23/2006 11:53:56 AM PDT by Moonman62
SAN FRANCISCO -- A new Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center study shows that exposure to environmental tobacco smoke, even at extremely low levels, is associated with behavior problems in children and pre-teens.
While the study examined 5 to 11 year olds with asthma, the findings most likely could be extrapolated to include children without asthma who "act out" or experience depression and anxiety, according to Kimberly Yolton, Ph.D., a researcher at the Children's Environmental Health Center at Cincinnati Children's and the study's main author
The study will be presented at 8:30 a.m. Pacific time Sunday, April 30, at the annual meeting of the Pediatric Academic Societies in San Francisco.
"This study provides further incentive for states to set public health standards to protect children from exposure to environmental tobacco smoke," says Dr. Yolton.
Dr. Yolton examined 225 children and pre-teens exposed to at least five cigarettes a day. On average, the children were exposed to approximately 14 cigarettes a day. The children were enrolled in an asthma intervention study. Dr. Yolton included additional measures to assess child behaviors.
To measure exposure to environmental tobacco smoke, Dr. Yolton measured levels of cotinine in the children's blood. Cotinine is a substance produced when nicotine is broken down by the body and can be measured in blood, urine, saliva and hair. It is considered the best available marker of environmental tobacco smoke exposure.
Dr. Yolton found a relationship between cotinine levels and increases in acting out; increases in holding things in, often manifested by anxiety and depression; increases in behavior problems as rated by parents, and behavior and school problems as rated by teachers; and, decreases in the ability to adapt to behavior problems.
"The greater the exposure to tobacco smoke, the greater the problems these children had," says Dr. Yolton. "Behavior problems in children have increased from 7 to 18 percent over the last 20 years for reasons that are poorly understood. Exposure to environmental tobacco smoke is increasingly recognized as a risk factor for child behavior problems."
In the United States, about 25 percent of children are exposed to environmental tobacco smoke in their own homes, yet more than 50 percent of children have detectable levels of cotinine in their blood, according to Dr. Yolton.
Previous studies have found link between tobacco smoke and birth weight, number of infections and other health problems, including asthma exacerbations. In a groundbreaking study in 2002, Dr. Yolton found that exposure to environmental tobacco smoke, even at extremely low levels, is associated with decreases in certain cognitive skills, including reading, math, and logic and reasoning, in children and adolescents.
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Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center is a 475-bed institution devoted to bringing the world the joy of healthier kids. Cincinnati Children's is dedicated to transforming the way health care is delivered by providing care that is timely, efficient, effective, family-centered, equitable and safe. Cincinnati Children's ranks third nationally among all pediatric centers in research grants from the National Institutes of Health. It is a teaching affiliate of the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. The Cincinnati Children's vision is to be the leader in improving child health. Additional information can be found at www.cincinnatichildrens.org.
Yes, there are addictions all around.
Big Macs
Hershey bars
sex
coffee
I mean, we could go on forever.
So, I guess no one should have kids, right?
While I was reading the article I was thinking that it could be that parents who smoke around their children are worse parents. It's too early to conclude that it's the smoke.
- - - -
On the face of it, that might seem like a very plausible contaminating factor.
However, WITH THAT FACTOR HELD CONSTANT, the DIFFERENCE IN BLOOD LEVELS OF THE SMOKING CHEMICAL CORRELATED EXTREMELY WELL WITH INCREASES IN BEHAVIORAL PROBLEMS.
That argument, therefore, falls wholesale into the trash as inadequate to explain the findings.
One might wonder how many children such a position was offered in justification for smoking around said children.
Perhaps children who have asthma have worse parents since these "studies" were done on asthmatic children.
- - - -
Perhaps it would be best to grope vainly for another excuse or rationalization. I do not know of a single study supporting such an idea. Children having asthma--that issue--cuts across a LOT of other variables, including child rearing skills.
The problem with bad behavior in kids and teens is this:
THERE ARE NO CONSEQUENCES FOR ANY OF THEIR ACTIONS, SMALL OR LARGE!!!!!!
- - - - -
Is this similar to the lack of consequences for folks who willfully smoke around children?
Yea! Great to see someone else brave enough to stand up and be counted for truth on such threads!
Thanks. Congrats.
We do not yet well understand why some folks seem to be immune--RELATIVELY--to the destructive effects of smoking directly and indirectly.
However, we do understand increasingly well that MOST PEOPLE are destroyed in greater or lesser degrees by smoke directly and indirectly.
Those are just the facts.
</sarc>
"Is this similar to the lack of consequences for folks who willfully smoke around children?"
So, let me get this straight. Cigarettes are causing all this bad behavior in kids?
Gee, who woulda thunk it. There are less smokers now than in 1950.
I would suspect that, too.
However, that variable remained constant in this study while the blood levels of the smoke related poison correlated highly with behavior problems step by step of the DEGREE of both.
Simple fact "behavioral problems", whatever those may be, are subjective.
hehe! Probably!
What a load of cr@p!
Those are NOT facts! Especially the one about second hand smoke. JUNK science!
"all?"
Sounds like sloppy reading, to me.
I don't recall anything in the study that asserted that the smoke related poisons found in the blood--higher levels of poison correlating with higher levels of misbehavior--were 100% responsible and the only responsible factor for the misbehaviors.
It is clear from the study that the smoke related poison(s) are A SIGNIFICANT FACTOR in the misbehaviors. This study did not have anything to do with apportioning out percentages for each contributing factor to misbehavior.
But I suspect you knew that . . . if you thought about it, at all.
At this stage of such research, behavior problems can be quantified and measured very reliably.
Check-lists are reliable.
Video-taping and filling in check-lists afterwards is reliable.
The allegation while technically correct has no significant bearing on the facts of the study. Behavioral problems can be measured and quantified very reliably, repeatably, congruently, validly.
Ahhhhhhhh yes, a true believer.
Cheers.
That construction on reality is very far from my construction on reality. And, I've found mine exceedingly reliable for a long time.
Take care,
I don't run but exercise quite a bit. I get a bit testy if I don't get my daily exercise in. Sort of like a nicotine fit I use to get when I smoked.
Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i HAVE FOUND A NEW HERO!!!!!!!!
IT IS YOU!!!!
If you would add informative cartoons, and pictures to your posts, that would most definetly be an added bonus to your cunningly rapier wit.
If only I was as perfect as you........sigh
I WWWAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNTTTTTTTTTTT TTTTTTTOOOOOOOOOOOO
BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEVVVVVVVVEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
qUICK, QUIX!!!!!!!!!!
help meeeeeeeeeeeeeee
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