Almost every kid in America owns tobacco, research finds –

Nearly all children in America, even those who live in homes where no one smokes, have nicotine on their hands, according to a new study.

Researchers from San Diego State University (SDSU) in California found that 96 percent of children had traces of nicotine on their hands, with similar levels in children of smokers and non-smokers.

They warn that children are regularly exposed to, and may even carry, traces of this dangerous and highly addictive substance.

Experts also say that nicotine can get on children’s hands when residue builds up and appears as dust particles on the surfaces of homes.

They also said that teens are more likely to ingest it because of the more frequent hand-to-mouth behavior that it could pose as a risk due to their developing organs and immature immune systems.

Dr. Penelope Quintana, a professor of environmental health at SDSU who was involved in the study, said it was a “wake-up call” for substances that could be hiding in families.

Children from black families and children earning less than $15,000 a year were more likely to have nicotine on their hands. The graph above shows the nicotine content in the hands of children living together who smoke (yellow line) and non-smokers (blue line).

The researchers, who published their findings on the open JAMA Network, dried the fingers of 500 children aged six for the study. Three-fifths came from non-smoking homes.

In the past week, children living in homes where no one smokes or smokes and has no contact with tobacco users were considered protected from tobacco exposure.

The researchers cleaned all five fingers of the child’s dominant hand, usually the right hand, and tested the samples for nicotine.

Nicotine was found in the hands of 189 (97%) of 193 children from families who smoke.

Out of 311 children living in homes where no one smoked, 296 (95%) had nicotine with them.

Children of families with an annual income of up to $15,000 or $30,000 were six and two times more likely to carry nicotine than families with higher earnings.

Black children were more likely to have nicotine in their hands than those from white families.

Quintana warns kids from families making less than $15,000 a year have the highest amount of nicotine in their hands.

The scientists said that because children spend more time indoors, they are more at risk of contracting this disease, called third-hand smoke (THS), than adults.

Nicotine is the addictive substance in cigarettes and is used in cigarettes and related products such as vaping.

“Low-income children and children of black parents have most of this involuntary exposure,” Quintana said. Said.

“This is a wake-up call to protect vulnerable children and is a neglected part of housing inequalities.”

Experts warn that nicotine can remain throughout the house, even in homes where no one smokes.

Dr. “One outcome of this study should be the inclusion of passive smoking as part of parent education programs for smoking cessation,” said Melinda Mahabee-Gittens, of the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and who led the data collection for the project.

The study was based on only a part of the United States, and it is unclear whether the findings summarize the situation in the rest of the country.

About 12.5% ​​of adults in the United States smoke, but only 10% in California. It has the second lowest smoking rate in the country.

West Virginia, Kentucky, and Louisiana have the highest smoking rates in the country, with more than two in ten adults smoking.

But Utah, California, and Massachusetts have the lowest rates.