Kids suffer long-term from parent’s smoking

Children exposed to their parents’ cigarette smoke are at greater risk of suffering serious cardiovascular health problems later in life, a study showed Wednesday.

The Menzies Research Institute in Tasmania collected data from a Finnish and Australian study following children first examined 20 years ago who are now aged in their mid-30s.

It found that those exposed to passive smoke as youngsters have less elasticity in their arteries, an indicator of poor cardiovascular health.

Study author and Menzies Research fellow Seana Gall said while it has been previously known that passive smoke was harmful, this was the world’s first examination on the long-term effects on blood vessel health. Read more.

Sobering news, yet I often see moms with a baby in their arms, puffing away on a cigarette. With all the evidence of the damage passive smoking does to children, why do parents still smoke around their kids?