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Learning Objectives: Define the nonsmoker groups at greatest risk from secondhand smoke exposure, and describe exposure trends within the population.
Abstract:
Problem/Objective:
Secondhand smoke (SHS) is a known human carcinogen. Exposure to SHS, also known as “involuntary smoking”, is known to increase the risk of lower respiratory tract illness in young children, exacerbate asthma, and may increase the risk of low birth weight and other adverse outcomes among pregnant nonsmokers.
Methods:
Assessing the extent of and trends in exposure to SHS in the population has included the measurement of serum cotinine in NHANES participants by a highly sensitive tandem mass spectrometric method.
Results:
Measurements in NHANES III (Phase 1) indicated that the median level of cotinine (the primary proximate metabolite of nicotine) in U.S. nonsmokers during 1988-1991 was 0.20 ng/mL, and more than 90% of the population aged 4 years and older had detectable levels of cotinine in their blood. By 1999-2000 the level of serum cotinine among nonsmokers had decreased more than 70% to a median concentration of 0.059 ng/mL, which probably reflects the intensive efforts to reduce the exposure of nonsmokers during this period. Cotinine levels declined for all groups based on age, sex or race/ethnicity.
Conclusions:
Despite the favorable trend towards lower serum cotinine concentrations in recent years, certain groups of nonsmokers including African-Americans and children consistently have demonstrated significantly higher levels of serum cotinine than the overall population and thus may remain at relatively greater risk from exposure. As a consequence, adverse health risks from the exposure to SHS of these two groups in particular, as well as pregnant women, remains a significant public health concern.
Related Web Page:
www.cdc.gov/exposurereport/2nd/tobacco.htm
See more of Secondhand Smoke Exposure
See more of Evaluation and Surveillance
See more of The 2005 National Conference on Tobacco or Health (May 4-6, 2005)