Disturbing: Most children have leftover tobacco on their hands
If you thought that only someone who smokes is in trouble, you are wrong.
The current study found that this also applies to children whose parents do not smoke.
So what can be done?
Walla!
health
16/02/2022
Wednesday, 16 February 2022, 07:42
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Young children put their hands in everything around.
Unfortunately, new research reveals that one of these things is tobacco.
Along with all the other bacteria that may pop up around, researchers say almost all children collect traces of nicotine on their hands.
Scientists from the University of San Diego and the University of Cincinnati whose study was published in the JAMA Network Open examined the hands of 504 children under the age of 11. Surprisingly, 97 percent showed "a certain level of nicotine on their hands."
Moreover, 95 percent of the children living in the non-smoking home still showed the presence of tobacco on their hands.
This suggests that the issue is an almost universal problem for mothers and fathers - not just a problem of smoking parents.
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To the full article
Many people are familiar with the term passive smoking, which refers to someone who is next to smokers and does not smoke himself, but did you know that there is also third-hand smoking?
This expression refers to the persistent chemical residues left behind by tobacco smoke in dust and surfaces.
Researchers claim that these residues probably linger in all the rooms where smokers lived.
Much more than dirt.
Hands of a toddler (Photo: ShutterStock)
"This study fills an important gap. We did a lot of research on third-hand smoking in private homes, cars, hotels and casinos, but we did not have access to clinical populations," said Georg Matt, professor of psychology at SDSU in a press release.
On a more positive note, the study authors report that efforts to reduce tobacco exposure among children in vulnerable populations have been shown to be effective.
In other words, it may not solve the problem completely, but if a parent smokes, he should try never to smoke in the car or indoors.
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Which children are at the highest risk for nicotine exposure?
The nicotine levels found by the children also varied according to income and race.
Children from low-income families generally showed higher amounts of nicotine on their hands.
In addition, children in African-American families also exhibited higher amounts of nicotine on their skin.
Who else is at high risk?
Those who live of course in a house with smokers.
"Because of the corona, everyone spends more time at home and more time at home. If you live in an environment where people smoke or used to smoke, you will be more exposed to third-party smoking than you were before," adds Prof Matt.
health
parenthood
Child health
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tobacco
smoking
Children
Cigarettes