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Smoking harms health, friendship 

Dear Wheezing: You have already explained your health problems to your friends, and they either don't completely believe you or are letting their addiction make their choice for them.

Either way, their choice is unfortunate.

If you want to try to revive this friendship, you could tell them, once again, that your health situation is chronic.

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Secondhand Smoke Boosts Asthmatic Boys' Behavior Woes  

Secondhand smoke in the home increases the risk of behavioral problems in boys with asthma, researchers report.

The study, by a team at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, included 220 boys and girls ages 6 to 12, with asthma.

For each doubling of secondhand smoke exposure, boys showed a twofold increase in behavioral problems such as hyperactivity, aggression, and depression.

The researchers found that secondhand smoke had no impact on girls, even though they were on average exposed to higher levels of tobacco smoke than boys. Additional research is needed to explain this gender difference, the researchers said.

The study was published online in the Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics.

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Budesonide Sprays Can Be Regarded As Safe For Pregnancy 

Quitting smoking reduces the risk of a baby developing asthma

Quitting smoking is the best thing a woman can do to protect her baby from developing asthma. "Researchers are studying a variety of options for preventing asthma in babies, including diet and probiotics. Quitting smoking is the only effective prevention that has been demonstrated to date", according to Professor Sawicki. This also counts for the father: when parents quit smoking, they can reduce the risk that their child will later develop asthma or allergies.

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Study strengthens link between tobacco smoke and behavioral problems in boys with asthma 

Boys with asthma who are exposed to environmental tobacco smoke have higher degrees of hyperactivity, aggression, depression and other behavioral problems, according to researchers at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.

In a study posted online ahead of print by the Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, the researchers said behavioral problems increase along with higher exposure levels, but they added even low levels of tobacco smoke may be detrimental to behavior.

"These findings should encourage us to make stronger efforts to prevent childhood exposure to tobacco smoke, especially among higher risk populations, such as children with asthma," said Kimberly Yolton, Ph.D., lead author of the study and a researcher at the Children's Environmental Health Center at Cincinnati Children's.

Interestingly, although girls in the study were on average exposed to higher levels of tobacco smoke than boys, the exposure did not lead to an increase in behavioral problems among them, investigators said. In boys, however, behavioral problems increased about two fold with each doubling in their tobacco smoke exposure, said Dr. Yolton.

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Environmental Tobacco Smoke Exposure and Child Behaviors. 

Conclusions: Among children with asthma, exposure to ETS is related to increased child behavior problems among boys.

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Asthma from Every Angle: Examined by a Leading Pulmonologist  

Over 300 million people around the world live with asthma, a chronic condition that causes airways to become inflamed and obstructs airflow to the lungs, often causing shortness of breath and wheezing. Diagnoses of asthma have surged over the past 25 years in most developed countries. Each day, 11 people die from the disease in the United States.

In light of this pressing situation, the New York-based American Council on Science and Health (ACSH) issued a report today examining asthma from every angle. Based on a technical paper authored by Columbia University pulmonologist Dr. Emily DiMango, the report -- Asthma: Causes, Diagnosis, and Treatment -- covers possible risk factors, cutting-edge treatments, and the most common triggers of an asthma attack.

"This report is essential reading for those living with and managing asthma, as well as for all who are interested in the science behind one of the world''s most common chronic conditions," said ACSH President Dr. Elizabeth Whelan.

While many risk factors are suspected to contribute to the development of asthma, doctors have yet to understand all the factors that cause the disease.

Dr. DiMango makes the case that exposure to environmental tobacco smoke, especially maternal smoking during pregnancy and parental smoking during childhood, greatly increases a child's risk of developing asthma. . . .

CSH, directed and advised by a consortium of over 350 physicians and scientists, urges Americans to focus their efforts on things that matter -- such as maintaining a healthy body weight and not smoking -- rather than the countless pieces of nonsensical or trivial health advice that fill the news.

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• 75% of Beedi workers suffer from illnesses 

A whopping 75% cent of about 44 lakh 'beedi' workers in the country suffer from multiple illnesses due to continuous exposure to tobacco and other hazardous substances, a study by an NGO has claimed.

The study conducted by the 'Voluntary Health Association of India (VHAI)' claimed that workers spent atleast 12 hours rolling beedis and faced the risks of contracting TB and developing chronic bronchitis, asthma, skin and spinal problems among others.

The study titled 'Caught in a Death Trap' involved a sample of over 1,000 workers of Anand district in Gujarat and Murshidabad in West Bengal.

The survey also claimed that almost all workers worked under "dehumanising conditions" as the industry openly "flouted" provisions of labour laws.

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Tenant seeks injunction to stop neighbour smoking 

A retired Vancouver actor wants a court injunction to prevent his next- door neighbour from smoking in their West End apartment building.

In a statement of claim filed in B.C. Supreme Court, Mina Erian Mina, 74, says that since October 2006 his neighbour, Christine Jestadt, has "created a nuisance" with her smoking.

Mina says the smoke has come through electrical wall sockets, windows and other access points in his suite in the Performing Arts Lodge (PAL) building on Cardero Street.

Mina Erian Mina says he's unable to sleep because of the smoke.

He claims he's suffered various health problems, including respiratory injuries, bronchospasm, reduced chest expansion, chest tightness, aggravation of coronary artery disease, loss of sleep, fatigue and anxiety.

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Smoking affects airway morphology and inflammation in mild asthma 

Smoking status impacts on morphological and inflammatory processes in young individuals with mild asthma, which may affect their response to treatment and clinical outcomes, say Canadian scientists.

Cigarette smoking remains common among asthmatics, despite the associations between exposure to tobacco smoke and increased morbidity and mortality. While neutrophilia in induced sputum has been observed in asthmatic smokers, the impact on the morphology of the bronchial mucosa of regular smoking has not been fully characterized.

Louis-Philippe Boulet, from Hôpital Laval in Québec, and colleagues therefore studied bronchial biopsies obtained from 24 steroid-naîve mild asthmatic individuals, half of whom were nonsmokers and the remainder current smokers. . . .

The team writes in the journal Clinical and Experimental Allergy: “The mechanisms by which smoking could influence the basic physiopathological process of asthma should still be explored, as should the influence of smoking cessation on the reversibility of these features.”

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Smokers should get pneumonia vaccine: U.S. advisers 

Smokers should be vaccinated against a pneumonia-causing germ, along with children and the elderly, U.S. federal advisers recommended on Wednesday.

If accepted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it would be the first vaccine recommendation aimed specifically at smokers.

The vaccines, called pneumococcal vaccines, prevent infection with several strains of Streptococcus pneumonia, a bacteria that causes pneumonia, meningitis and other severe infections. They are routinely given to the elderly and to small children, but not to healthy young adults.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, meeting in Atlanta, had been asked to discuss whether the shot might benefit smokers, who have a higher risk of lung and respiratory infection in general.

"The ACIP voted to recommend smokers aged 19 through 64 years of age should be vaccinated with pneumococcal vaccine. The committee also recommended smokers who receive pneumococcal vaccine also undergo stop smoking counseling," CDC spokesman Curtis Allen said by e-mail.

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• CDC Advisory Panel Votes to Update Pneumococcal Vaccination Recommendations 

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted unanimously yesterday to recommend that adults ages 19 to 64 with asthma receive pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPSV23), known as PNEUMOVAX® 23 (Pneumococcal Vaccine Polyvalent). Merck & Co., Inc. is the sole supplier of PNEUMOVAX 23 in the United States. The ACIP based this recommendation on study data that showed an increased risk of pneumococcal disease among people with asthma. Pneumococcal diseases are caused by common bacteria and can lead to potentially serious bacterial infections of the lungs (pneumonia), lining of the brain (meningitis) and blood (bacteremia).

The ACIP also voted to recommend that people aged 19 through 64 years who smoke cigarettes should receive PPSV23 as well as smoking-cessation counseling. This recommendation is the first time the ACIP has recommended a vaccine specifically for people who smoke. The ACIP stated that people at increased risk for invasive pneumococcal disease include those who smoke cigarettes.

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• Gene Variations, Secondhand Smoke Linked to Early Asthma  

Certain genetic variations previously identified as putting people at higher risk for asthma apparently only increase the risk of so-called early-onset asthma, which is disease that appears at 4 years of age or younger.

The risk is further increased by exposure to secondhand smoke, again early in life, according to a study in the Oct. 16 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

"This helps support the theory that asthma is not a uniform disease. It's probably several problems that end up with the same type of symptoms," said Dr. Thomas Leath, assistant professor of pediatrics at the Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine. "It also supports the fact that it's not just genes that cause asthma, and it's not just the environment, but the interaction between the two."

Another striking point in the study was the clear cut-off point of 4 years of age, experts said.

"It seems clear that there are certain genetic loci that are connected with early onset asthma -- that wasn't surprising," said Dr. Len Horovitz, a pulmonary specialist with Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. "What was interesting was the interlude between nature and nurture. It's clear that those kids exposed to secondhand smoke had much more of a flowering of the disease process than those who weren't. That illustrates that while something can be genetically determined, it can be amplified by environmental factors."

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On eve of New Albany smoking vote, FCTPC points to new data to support ban 

Implementing a comprehensive smoking ban would reduce asthma-related medical visits in New Albany, doctors and medical officials said Wednesday.

Speaking at a press conference sponsored by Floyd County Tobacco Prevention and Cessation, or FCTPC, Richard Wilson, chair of the Department of Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Louisville, said statistics prove asthma cases decrease when a smoking ban is applied.

He pointed to a six-year study done by the University of Kentucky which allegedly shows asthma-related medical visits decreased by 24 percent in adults and 18 percent in children for an average of a 22 percent decline after Lexington, Ky., banned smoking in public establishments.

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• Study: Ban reduces hospitalizations 

A new study of Kentucky health care usage in four hospitals published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology concluded that smoke-fee laws reduced asthma emergency room visits by more than a fifth, according to a news release from Nicole Resch, tobacco control coordinator of Manitowoc County.

University of Kentucky researchers assessed emergency room visits for asthma in the Lexington area before and after the enactment of a countywide smoke-free law. They found that after 32 months in effect, the smoke-free law dropped asthma emergency room visits by 22 percent.

"This research once again shows that secondhand smoke is a health hazard," Resch said in the news release. "It is dangerous to people's health. And it is expensive to treat. This study reaffirms the importance of smoke-free laws."

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• Study: ER visits for asthma drop after Lexington smoking ban 

Asthma-related emergency room visits dropped sharply after Lexington's smoking ban took effect in 2004, according to a University of Kentucky study.

The study, which researchers believe to be the first of its kind, assessed visits to emergency departments in four Lexington hospitals 40 months before the smoking ban and 32 months afterward, finding an average 22 percent decline in asthma visits -- 24 percent for adults and 18 percent for children up to 19 years old.

"We can't say smoke-free laws cause these declines. We can say there's a significant relationship," said University of Kentucky nursing professor Ellen Hahn, one of seven authors of the study to be published in the September issue of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. "This adds to the growing body of evidence that we have significant health benefits from smoke-free laws."

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