Tobacco is not harmful only to the smoker but also to those around them, and especially to their children. In addition to being related to an increased risk of infections and respiratory problems in children, a study has looked at the effects of tobacco on the circulatory system and has concluded that children whose parents smoke have the highest tension.
The research was carried out by scientists from the University of Heidelberg (Germany) and the pediatric hospital in Bern (Switzerland) with boys and girls of an average age of 5.7 years with one or both parents smoking.
According to the results, children exposed to tobacco smoke at home have 21% more likely to have high blood pressure, regardless of other factors that could cause it such as overweight or family history of hypertension.
The most significant increase was the systolic blood pressure, the high, which increased an average of 1.0 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg), while the diastolic blood pressure, the low, presented 0.5 millimeters more.
That from so young children who are passive smokers have a greater predisposition to have high blood pressure is an added risk to suffer in adulthood diseases of the circulatory system such as stroke or heart attacks.
It was also discovered that although there were fewer smoking mothers than smoking parents, they had a greater effect on their children, probably due to the time they spent at home with them.
Smoking parents have to know the problems their children may have in the future because of their addiction to tobacco and act accordingly. I celebrate measures such as smoking prohibited in playgrounds, it is a less space where children are exposed to the bad smoke of the elderly.
