The researchers tested the exposure level of the children using a biomarker - a biological marker - that measures the presence of nicotine in the hair (which indicates cumulative exposure to tobacco smoke). The findings are very worrying: among 7 out of 10 children of smoking parents who participated in the study, nicotine residues were found in the hair
The first study of its kind in Israel by the Sackler Faculty of Medicine at Tel Aviv University reveals alarming data regarding the forced smoking of children of smoking parents: according to the study, nicotine residues were found in hair samples among 70% of the children.
The study was conducted under the leadership of a team of experts from the Faculty of Medicine at Tel Aviv University led by Prof. Leah Rosen from the School of Public Health and alongside her researchers Dr. Vicky Myers, Prof. Nurit Gutman, Ms. Neely Brown, Prof. Mati Berkovic and Dr. Michal Beitan. Prof. David Zucker from the Hebrew University and Dr. Anna Roll from Johns Hopkins University in the USA also participated in the study. The study was published in the prestigious journal TOBACCO & NICOTINE RESEARCH.
As part of the study, the researchers wanted to check whether raising awareness of the children's exposure through providing objective feedback might change the behavior of the parents. Approximately 140 Israeli families, parents of children up to the age of 8, in which at least one parent smokes, participated in the study. The average smoking per household was 15 cigarettes a day, with a third of the respondents reporting that they smoke indoors, and another third said that they usually smoke on the balcony but not at home.
First, the researchers checked the exposure level of the children using a biomarker - a biological marker - that measures the presence of nicotine in the hair (which indicates cumulative exposure to tobacco smoke). The researchers took hair samples from the children, and tested the nicotine level in each sample in the laboratory.
The findings were very worrying: 70% of the children were found to have nicotine residues in their hair, while only 30% of the children tested had no nicotine in their hair.
The researchers divided the families into two groups: One group received comprehensive training on the consequences and dangers of exposure to smoking, including feedback and information on the test results, as well as buying tools to protect their children from exposure to cigarette smoke and a recommendation to keep a smoke-free home and car. The second group received an intervention including feedback on the level of nicotine in the child's hair, after six months, at the end of the study.
Six months later, the researchers conducted another nicotine test in the children's hair, and a significant improvement in the data could already be seen: in the group that underwent comprehensive training, the percentage of children who found nicotine in their hair samples dropped from 66% to 53%, while in the other group (which did not undergo training at the beginning of the study) The proportion of children who found nicotine in their hair samples dropped from 74% to 49%
The researchers estimate that the very knowledge that the children were indeed exposed to tobacco smoke and the risks associated with exposure, and that in a few months another test is expected, caused the parents to change their behavior and reduce the children's exposure. Following the results of the study, the researchers recommend that such tests be considered to routinely measure exposure in young children in Israel.
Prof. Leah Rosen: "Unfortunately, according to data from the Ministry of Health, about 60% of young children in Israel are exposed to forced smoking and its harm. Research findings We believe that measuring nicotine - in hair, urine or through another test - in every preschool child in Israel, may change parents' perceptions about their children's exposure to tobacco smoke. The change in perception may also lead to a change in behavior, exposure levels, or social norms regarding exposure to secondhand smoke - of both children and adults.
We call on smokers to make an effort to better protect non-smokers, and especially at-risk populations - including children, pregnant women, the elderly and the sick. As for the 'non-smokers', they must understand that there is a real danger in being exposed to tobacco smoke, and stand up for their right and the right of their children to breathe smoke-free air everywhere. Of course, the government has a central role to enforce laws about smoking in public places, and to continue to enact laws to protect the individual in all places from exposure to second-hand smoke."
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