Smoking during pregnancy, childhood cancer

Cancer risk for children of mothers who smoke during pregnancy may be 50 percent higher than for children of nonsmoking mothers. Risk for Wilms tumor, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and acute lymphocytic leukemia is approximately double in these children. (The Lancet 1:1350-1352, June 14, 1986) Copyright 1986 Phylis Austin

Restless leg syndrome, smoking

Restless leg syndrome is poorly understood and has been attributed to a number of factors. A Canadian physician reports that a 70-year-old lady was cured of her symptoms about a month after she stopped smoking.
(Canadian Medical Association Journal 133:426-427, September 1, 1985)
Copyright 1985 Phylis A Austin

Parental smoking and cancer risk in children

Cancer risk is 50 percent greater in children whose fathers smoke. Children whose mothers smoked also have an increased risk of cancer. If both parents smoke the risk is greater. (American Journal of Public Health 75:487-492, 1985) Copyright 1985 Phylis Austin

Passive smoking and heart disease

More people die of smoking related heart disease than lung cancer. A ten-year study done in California revealed that wives of current or former smokers had a higher death rate from heart disease than did women whose husbands did not smoke. (American Journal of Epidemiology 121:645-50, 1985) Tobacco continues to be the number one health hazard in the United States, causing or making worse a host of diseases. Copyright 1985 Phylis Austin

Smoking and cervical cancer

Dr. E. R. Greenberg of the Norris Cotton Cancer Center reports that heavy smokers have at least a two-fold increase in the risk of cervical cancer. (British Journal of Cancer 51:139-41, 1985) Copyright 1985 Phylis Austin

Smoking mothers and infant mental development

Infants of mothers who smoked during pregnancy show higher rates of hyperactivity, shorter attention spans, and lower scores on reading and spelling tests than did children whose mothers did not smoke during the pregnancy. (Obstetrics and Gynecology 64(5)601-607, November 1984)
Copyright 1985 Phylis Austin

Smoking, phenacetin, cancer of the ureter, cancer of renal pelvis

Smoking increases the risk of cancer of the ureter, and pain medications containing phenacetin increase the risk of cancer of the renal pelvis, according to a study published in the Journal of Urology. (Journal of Urology 130(1)28-30, 1983) Copyright 1985 Phylis Austin

Smoking and breastfeeding

Mothers who smoke while breastfeeding risk exposing their infants to insecticides which are applied to the tobacco plants. (Mayo Clinic Proceedings 59:759-765, November 1984) ED- Infants whose mothers smoked during pregnancy are at twice the risk of sudden infant death syndrome
(SIDS) than those of non-smoking mothers. Copyright 1984 Phylis Austin

Smoking and palmar-plantar pustulosis

A British study has revealed a link between palmar-plantar pustulosis and smoking. Conor St. J. O’Doherty of the University Department of Dermatology at the Royal Infirmary, Edinburgh noticed that many of his patients were smokers. He carried out a retrospective study and observed that 85 percent of them were smokers; of the non-smokers over half had smoked for 4 to 50 years. (Dermatology News 17(10)1, 11, November-December 1984) Copyright 1985 Phylis Austin

Passive smoke and infant colic

Only 32 percent of infants with non-smoking parents suffered colic after meals, while 91 percent of infants in homes where the father smoked 20 or more cigarettes per day suffered colic. As the parent’s smoking habits increased, so did the rate of colic in infants. (British Medical Journal 289:660, September 1984) Copyright 1985 Phylis Austin