News, Advice, and Tips for Parenting Teenagers

Researchers have discovered another health risk related to young people and smoking. Children who have been exposed to cigarette smoke have thicker arteries, according to a study from Finland.

• Dr. Katariina Kallio and her colleagues at the University of Turku studied 494 children ages 8 to 13 years old by measuring levels of a byproduct of nicotine in their blood.
  
• The children with the highest levels had carotid artery walls that were 7 percent thicker than children with the lowest levels.

"These findings suggest that children should not face exposure to tobacco smoke at all," said Dr. Kallio. "Even a little exposure to tobacco smoke may be harmful for blood vessels."

The study appeared in the journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes.

Labels: secondhand smoke, tobacco

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In 1989, the Girl Scouts conducted a landmark study on the overall attitudes and behaviors of young people. They conducted a follow-up study this year, and found that, in general, today's kids are headed in the right direction.

The blog Ms. Twixt provided the following details from the study, which is scheduled to be published in December:

• 62 percent of surveyed teens say they would not cheat on a test (compared to 48 percent in 1989)
• 58 percent of surveyed teens say they would refuse an alcoholic drink if offered one at a party (compared to 46 percent in 1989)
• 18 percent say smoking is okay if the person finds it enjoyable (compared to 27 percent in 1989)
• 76 percent say they will give regularly to charity (compared to 63 percent in 1989)

Labels: tobacco, alcohol, research, morals, values

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Teenagers whose mothers smoke are three times more likely to smoke cigarettes themselves, compared to children whose mothers abstain, according to a new study from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

• Only 9 percent of teenagers smoke tobacco.
• However, among teens whose mothers smoke, that rate is almost 17 percent.
• Teens whose mothers do not use cigarettes have an 5.8 percent smoking rate.

"We were a little surprised that the results were that high,"  said Fran Harding, director of the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention. "The percentages of teen smoking have been going down and this is showing us a recent increase."

Teens whose mothers suffered from a major episode of depression within the last year are twice as likely to take up smoking compared to teenagers not in that situation. The rate of smoking among teens with depressive mothers is 14.3 percent.
 

Labels: mothers, tobacco, influences, smoking

Posted By: Jane St. Clair 1 Comment