Education News – Grace Smith
“The good news is that fewer teenagers in the US are smoking, but the bad news is that secondhand smoke is still a significant problem for young people, according to a government study. Approximately 50% of students in middle school and high school were exposed to secondhand smoke in 2013, with smokers’ rates of exposure even higher, writes the Associated Press. Even though previous studies involving teens and secondhand smoke in particular places, including cars or inside rooms, found that the issue had become less severe in recent years, the new study suggests that this problem is still affecting millions of adolescents. “These findings are concerning because the U.S. surgeon general has concluded that there is no safe level of secondhand smoke exposure,” said Israel Agaku, lead author and a researcher at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A link has been discovered between children who have been exposed to secondhand smoke and several illnesses such as pneumonia, breathing problems, bronchitis, asthma, shortness of breath, sneezing, coughing, respiratory infections and ear infections.”(more)