Secondhand Smoke Linked to Fertility Problems
Reported January 02, 2009
(Ivanhoe Newswire) — There’s one more reason why you should quit smoking: it may make it harder for those around you to have children.
Researchers have found women exposed to secondhand smoke in either childhood or adulthood, are much more likely to experience fertility issues and suffer miscarriages.
In a study of 4,800 female nonsmokers, those who were exposed to secondhand smoke for six or more hours per day had a 68 percent greater chance of having trouble getting pregnant and suffering one or more miscarriages.
“We all know that cigarettes and secondhand smoke are dangerous,” Luke J. Peppone, Ph.D., a research assistant professor at the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York, was quoted as saying. “Breathing the smoke has lasting effects, especially for women when they’re ready for children,” he added.
Many of the women who participated in the study grew up in the 1940s and 50s, before the surgeon general first issued a warning about the dangers of cigarette smoking in 1964. Since then, millions of dollars have contributed to spreading the word about the dangers of cigarettes. Today, however, tobacco use still contributes to nearly 90 percent of all deadly lung cancers and 30 percent of all cancer deaths across the nation.
SOURCE: Tobacco Control, published online December 5, 2008