The effects of a mother's smoking on her children's lungs may be permanent, possibly furthering the risk of serious lung disease in children who take up the habit themselves, new research published in the 02/15/04 issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine suggests.
The study found that the adult children of female smokers had smaller lung volumes compared with the children of non-smokers, regardless of whether they themselves smoked. What's more, among adults who did smoke, those whose mothers smoked had a higher risk of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a group of serious lung diseases that includes emphysema.
Dr. Mark N. Upton, the lead author of the new study said, "...our results suggest that the effects of maternal smoking on lung size are permanent." According to Upton, the findings provide yet another reason for women to quit smoking before pregnancy, but also suggest that it's not "too late" to quit after giving birth.
In addition, Upton said, smokers who know their mothers were lighting up when they were young children should be aware that they may face a higher COPD risk. For these smokers, he added, believing "it will never happen to me" is now more difficult.
This study emphasizes the fact that parents' smoking can cause long-range harm after birth as well. So, it's not good for you, it's not good for the people around you and is likely to injure your children... now and in the future.
Actions Have Consequences, Present and Future
One of chiropractic's concepts is that "we may never know how far reaching something we may think, say or do today will affect the lives of millions tomorrow..." We use this concept in chiropractic so that chiropractors will take the time to explain what we do and why we do what we do to our patients. It is time everyone realized that the same is true for them.
What's Wrong With This Picture?
U.S. regulators are considering whether two anemia-fighting drugs (Amgen Inc.'s Aranesp and Johnson & Johnson's Procrit), often given to cancer patients, may in some cases, stimulate tumor growth, a question raised by studies of similar products sold in Europe. Another study found patients undergoing radiation treatment for head and neck cancer had shorter survival times if they took Roche AG's NeoRecormon, the company's anemia treatment sold in Europe.
