Passive smoking children grow despite the Anti-Tobacco Law
The tobacco It is harmful, that is something known. And its effects not only affect those who consume it, those around them also suffer the negative results of cigarettes. Many children become passive smokers by exposing themselves to these fumes from their parents or other people in environments open to the public, where the air has these pollutants.
With the Anti-tobacco law which came into force in 2011 was intended to prevent people who did not smoke from breathing this smoke in places such as cafes or restaurants. However, despite these regulations, the number of passive smoking children has increased in recent years, as reflected in the study carried out by the University of Granada.
Consumption at home
The researchers collected data from 118 children belonging to the cohort of the INMA-Granada, research project Children and Environment. Statistics before and after the entry of regulations against tobacco. The results showed that far from helping to prevent passive smokers, this Law caused the opposite, an increase of this number.
If the level of nicotine in these children was 8.0 ng / ml in the 2005-2006 period, in the years 2011-201 it was 8.7 ng / ml. Results that have two explanations, on the one hand the increase in consumption in the home and in the car. "Our results indicate that the ban on smoking in public places and work has moved consumption to private places, contrary to what has been described in other studies that say that prohibiting smoking in bars does not increase consumption at home," says the main author of this work, Mariana Fernández Cabrera, from the Department of Radiology and Physical Medicine of the University of Granada.
On the other hand, the Anti-Tobacco Law has not reduced the number of smokers either. The number of families with at least one tobacco consumer member increased from 39%, in the 2005 to 2006, to 50.8%, from 2011 to 2012. A growth also appreciated in mothers (20.3% vs. 29.7%) and parents (33.9% vs. 39.0%) who also participated in this study. A situation that researchers attribute to the economic crisis, which has caused many people to resort to these articles as an anti-stress method.
Problems derived from passive smoking
Smoking in front of a child is one of the worst decisionss that can be taken. The one who makes a small breathe this smoke, causes them to face these problems:
- Acute respiratory diseases and chronic respiratory symptoms.
- Asthma and aggravation of asthmatic symptoms.
- Increased respiratory symptoms (such as cough, sore throat, ear problems).
- Higher risk of lung cancer.
- Increased risk of heart problems: myocardial infarction, angina.
- Greater possibility of developing bronchitis, asthma, pneumonia and otitis. Asthmatic children have more severe and more frequent symptoms.
Damián Montero
