Children Of Smokers Have More Than Five Times Higher Levels Of A Nicotine Toxin

Main Category: Smoking / Quit Smoking
Also Included In: Pediatrics / Children's Health;  Respiratory / Asthma
Article Date: 20 Jun 2007 - 1:00 PST

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Children who have at least one parent who smokes have 5.5 times higher levels of cotinine, a byproduct of nicotine, in their urine, according to a University of Leicester led study published online ahead of print in Archives of Disease in Childhood.

Having a mother that smokes was found to have the biggest independent effect on cotinine in the urine - quadrupling it. Having a smoking father doubled the amount of cotinine, one of chemicals produced when the body breaks down nicotine from inhaled smoke to get rid of it.

Sleeping with parents and lower temperature rooms were also associated with increased amounts of cotinine. Cotinine was measured in 100 urine samples taken from infants aged 12 weeks. Seventy one of the babies had at least one parent that smoked and the parents of the other 33 were non-smokers.

The authors from University of Leicester Medical School, working with Warwick University, say: 'Babies affected by smoke tend to come from poorer homes, which may have smaller rooms and inadequate heating.

'Higher cotinine levels in colder times of year may be a reflection of the other key factors which influence exposure to passive smoking, such as poorer ventilation or a greater tendency for parents to smoke indoors in winter.'

Sleeping with a parent is a know risk factor for cot death and the authors suggest that one reason for this could be inhalation of, or closeness to clothing or other objects contaminated with, smoke particles during sleep.

Nearly 40% of under-fives are believed to be exposed to tobacco smoke at home, and smoke may be responsible for up to 6,000 deaths per year in the US alone, in young children.

The authors say: 'Babies and children are routinely exposed to cigarette smoking by their carers in their homes, without the legislative protection available to adults in public places.'

But they acknowledge that there are practical difficulties in preventing smoking in private homes because it relies on parents or carers being educated about the harmful effects of passive smoking on their children and then acting on that knowledge.

"Effect of parental smoking on cotinine levels in newborns"
Archives of Disease in Childhood 2007; doi: 10.1136/adc.2006.108506
http://www.adc.bmj.com

University Of Leicester

- A member of the 1994 Group of universities that share a commitment to research excellence, high quality teaching and an outstanding student experience.

-- England's top ranked University for teaching quality and overall satisfaction amongst universities teaching full time students - National Student Survey 2005 and 2006
-- Ranked as a Top 20 university by The Times Good University Guide and The Guardian University League Table
-- One of just 19 UK universities to feature in world's top 200- Shanghai Jiao Tong International Index, 2005 and 2006.
-- Short listed Higher Education Institution of the Year - THES awards 2005 and 2006
-- Students' Union of the Year award 2005, short listed 2006

Founded in 1921, the University of Leicester has 19,000 students from 136 countries. Teaching in 18 subject areas has been graded Excellent by the Quality Assurance Agency- including 14 successive scores - a consistent run of success matched by just one other UK University. Leicester is world renowned for the invention of DNA Fingerprinting by Professor Sir Alec Jeffreys and houses Europe's biggest academic Space Research Centre. 90% of staff are actively engaged in high quality research and 13 subject areas have been awarded the highest rating of 5* and 5 for research quality, demonstrating excellence at an international level. The University's research grant income places it among the top 20 UK research universities. The University employs over 3,000 people, has an annual turnover of £173m, covers an estate of 94 hectares and is engaged in a £300m investment programme- among the biggest of any UK university.

University of Leicester