In a study of nearly 3,000 children, those who were exposed to the most cigarette smoke had the lowest levels of vitamin C in their blood, regardless of how much vitamin C they took in food and multivitamins, findings show. Since vitamin C protects against metabolic changes that can lead to heart disease, the report highlights the dangers of passive or secondhand smoke to children, explains Dr. Richard S. Strauss of the University of Medicine and Dentistry, New Jersey-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick. Other studies have linked secondhand smoke to lower blood levels of vitamin C and beta-carotene in adults, and to an increased risk of asthmaand wheezing in children. He also interviewed parents and children about their smoking habits and recorded the child's diet over the past day. Although intake of fruit, a major source of vitamin C, was similar among children with smoking and nonsmoking parents, blood levels of the vitamin were lower in children exposed to tobacco smoke.
Cigarette smoke contains high levels of free radicals- compounds implicated in disease and aging.
Exposure to these compounds via passive smoking could deplete the body's supplies of antioxidant vitamins like vitamin C, Strauss points out. Passive smoking has been linked to asthma, sudden infant death syndrome, susceptibility to infections and heart disease. A survey conducted last year by researchers at Mississippi State University in Starkville revealed that while the vast majority of parents believe smoking harms children, one-fifth allow people to smoke around their kids. AEDs have been used on airplanes and in casinos for several years. And they have been used successfully, according to a report published in the March issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association.