Passive smoke causes ADHD in kids

Passive smoking can cause attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) among children, a study published in the latest edition of Pediatrics, the official journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, has said. Another report has pointed out that adolescent smokers exposed to second-hand smoke (SHS) are more likely to develop respiratory problems compared to those who weren’t.

The study conducted by experts from University of Cincinnati College of Medicine (Ohio), British Columbia Children’s Hospital and Simon Fraser University (Vancouver) and University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill), said that prenatal tobacco exposure due to mother’s smoking during pregnancy and higher lead concentrations in blood of the child were one of the reasons for ADHD among children. The doctors, who conducted studies on children in US between 8 to 15 years of age concluded that a reduction of these toxic exposures may be an important avenue for ADHD prevention.

The second report pointed out that second-hand smoke and respiratory symptoms among adolescent smokers was interconnected and the impact of SHS exposure on child health could be largely underestimated by not taking into account such effects.

Adolescent smokers exposed to SHS at home from 1-4 and 5-7 days a week were 50% and 77% more likely to report respiratory symptoms than those not exposed to SHS. This was the first evidence that SHS exposure was associated with increased risks for respiratory problems among youngsters and the authors said that health promotion programs should simultaneously focus at SHS reduction and smoking cessation among adolescent smokers. This study was conducted by the University of Hong Kong.
Earlier, a study by a team of researchers from Temple University (Pennsylvania), University of Oxford and University of Bristol concluded that parents who smoke were responsible for their children’s poor performance in school since passive smoking can disrupt learning and school performance in childhood.