Read more: Passive smoking causes ‘irreversible damage’ to children’s arteries (The Irish Times, 5th March 2014)Exposure to second-hand smoke in childhood causes irreversible damage to children's arteries - increasing their risk of heart attacks or strokes when they grow up, according to a large international study published today.
The research, which lends weight to campaigns for smoking to be banned in private cars and homes, found passive smoking leads to a thickening of children's artery walls, adding some 3.3 years to the age of blood vessels by adulthood.
The study was conducted in Finland and Australia on 2,401 and 1,375 people from each country, respectively.
I continue to be shocked at the fact people are still smoking in 2014 with the mountain of evidence it's detrimental to health and is a high-risk factor in cancer. If we take this into consideration when considering anthropogenic climate change, the conclusion must be we're all doomed, unless democracy is abolished and a benevolent & enlightened dictator saves the day. (Okay, that was a bit of a tangent! But a fair point, right?)