( tudinal study of respiratory health amo...)Teen-age Smokers at Higher Risk Of Developing Asthma,Health

tudinal study of respiratory health among children in 12 southern California communities. During annual school visits the researchers collected data on demographic factors, medical histories, household exposures, cigarette smoking and newly diagnosed asthma. They followed a group of 2,609 children and adolescents who were between the ages of 8 to 15 at the start of the study and had no prior history of asthma or wheezing.

The majority of the children were non-Hispanic white or Hispanic white. About 14 percent of these children were reportedly exposed to smoking before birth i.e.during their mother's pregnancy, while,17.5 percent of them were exposed to secondhand smoke.

During the course of the study, about 28 percent of children reported smoking at any time during their life, 13.8 percent reported smoking weekly, and 6.9 percent reported smoking regularly (at least seven cigarettes per week). Children who were exposed to smoke before birth were slightly more likely to become regular smokers.

The children were tracked an average of 6.3 years, and as long as 8 years, depending on their age at joining the study and whether they continued participating. Over that time, 255 new cases of asthma were reported, with a greater percentage of girls being diagnosed than boys.

Interestingly, children who were regular smokers but who also had a history of allergies were not found to have an increased risk of asthma.

The link between regular smoking and asthma was not substantially affected by adjusting for family income and other demographic factors, birth weight, gestational age, physical activity levels, family history of asthma, pets, or exposure to pollutants or secondhand smoke.

'The clinical and public health implications for our findings are far-reaching,' the authors conclude. 'Effective tobacco control efforts focusing on the prevention of smoking in children, adolescents and women of childbearin
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