Second-hand smoke tied to children’s behavior problems

By REUTERS
Published: Jul 14, 2011 23:41 Updated: Jul 14, 2011 23:41

WASHINGTON: Children exposed to secondhand smoke at home may be more likely to have learning and behavioral problems, according to a US study.

Of more than 55,000 US children younger than 12 years, 6 percent lived with a smoker — and those children were more likely to have ADHD compared to children in smoke-free homes, the study, published in Pediatrics, found. Even after accounting for a number of possible explanations, such as parents’ income and education levels, secondhand smoke was still tied to a higher risk of behavioral problems, said Hillel Alpert at the Harvard School of Public Health, one of the researchers. The findings don’t prove a smoke-filled home is to blame, because there are other factors that the study didn’t look at that may also be to blame — but it may give parents yet another reason to keep their homes smoke-free.

(arabnews.com)