| Peer-Reviewed

Effects of Second Hand Smoking on the Health of School Children in Awendo, Kenya

Received: 19 September 2019     Accepted: 7 October 2019     Published: 17 October 2019
Views:       Downloads:
Abstract

Exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS) can cause diseases and deaths among children. Yet children continue to be exposed especially among the low income countries. Epidemiological evidence shows that children of smoking parents have increased risk of neuro-behavioral deficits, neurodevelopmental deficits and childhood cancer. The aim of this study was to find out if children living in low-income countries are still exposed to SHS and its additional burden on the health and school absenteeism among children in the rural setting. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in February-March 2016. A 2-stage cluster-sample design was used to obtain a representative sample (N=600) of private and public primary day school students year 7 and 8 (aged 12-15 years old) in Awendo. A higher proportion (55.5%) of the younger children lived with one or more than two smokers in the home. A modest proportion of children reported complete restriction of smoking at home. The risk of Asthmatic attack increased by more than three fold and more than ten fold among children living with one smoker and among those living with more than two smokers respectively. Smoking has been associated with poor dietary intake, in this case children living with smokers were found to be significantly malnourished. Successful smoking cessation among residents living with children could contribute to decreased asthmatic attacks, malnutrition and school absenteeism.

Published in Central African Journal of Public Health (Volume 5, Issue 6)
DOI 10.11648/j.cajph.20190506.17
Page(s) 266-271
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2019. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Secondhand Smoke, School Children, Health Effects

References
[1] Rabin RC (2011). A New Cigarette Hazard: ‘Third-Hand Smoke.’ New York Times, Health section, Research subsection, online edition (2 Jan 2009). Available: http://tinyurl.com/9g9vrk [accessed 12 Jan 2011].
[2] US Public Health Service Office of the Surgeon General (2006). The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke: A Report of the Surgeon General. Rockville, MD: US Dept. of Health and Human Services; 2006 [Google Scholar]
[3] Schick S, Glantz S. Philip Morris (2005). Toxicological experiments with fresh side stream smoke: more toxic than mainstream smoke. Tob Control2005;14:396–404 [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
[4] U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2010). A Report of the Surgeon General: How Tobacco Smoke Causes Disease: What It Means to You. Atlanta: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health; 2010. [Google Scholar].
[5] Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS) Kenya. 2013; Fact Sheet. Available at: http://www.health.go.ke/gats.html
[6] King K, Martynenko M, Bergman MH, Liu YH, Winickoff JP, Weitzman M. Family composition and children’s exposure to adult smokers in their homes. Pediatrics. 2009; 123 (4). Available at: www.pediatrics.org/cgi/content/full/123/4/e559
[7] Zahid Naeem (2015). Second hand smoke- Ignored Implications. International Journal of Health Sciencies.
[8] Ababulgu SA, Dereje N, Girm A. Secondhand tobacco smoke exposure among adolescents in an Ethiopian school. Healthcare in Low-resource Settings. 2016; [S. l.], v. 4, n. 1, may 2016. ISSN 2281-7824. Available at: . Date accessed: 04 April. 2018. doi: https://doi.org/10.4081/hls.2016.5584
[9] Sarwat Shah., Mona Kanaan., Rumana Huque., Aziz Sheikh., Omara Dogar., Heather Thomson., Steve Parrott., Kamran Siddiqi (2017). Secondhand Smoke Exposure in Primary School Children: A Survey in Dhaka, Bangladesh Nicotine & Tobacco Research, Volume 21, Issue 4, April 2019, Pages 416–423, https://doi.org/10.1093/ntr/ntx248
[10] Mbulo, L & M. Palipudi, K & Andes, L & Asma, Samira & Sinha, Dhirendra & R. Ratsimbazafy, R & Rarick, J & Caixeta, Roberta & Khoury, R. (2015). Secondhand Smoke Exposure among 3.2 Billion Children in 20 Countries. International Journal of Epidemiology. 44. i32-i33. 10.1093/ije/dyv097.107.
[11] Öberg M, et al. Worldwide burden of disease from exposure to second-hand smoke: a retrospective analysis of data from 192 countries. Lancet. 2011; 377 (9760): 139–146. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(10)61388-8. [PubMed] [CrossRef] [Google Scholar]
[12] Keskinoglua Pembe, Cimrinb Dilek, Aksakoglua Gazanfer. The Impact of Passive Smoking on the Development of Lower Respiratory Tract Infections in Children Health. Journal of Tropical Pediatrics. 2007 Oct; 53 (5) [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
[13] World Health Organization, (2011). Children's Health and the Environment. World Health Organization. Pg. 1-20. www.who.int/ceh.
[14] Akinbami LJ, Moorman JE, Bailey C (2012). Trends in asthma prevalence, health care use, and mortality in the United States, 2001–2010. NCHS Data Brief. May 2012; (94): 1–8.
[15] U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2011). The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke: A Report of the Surgeon General. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Coordinating Center for Health Promotion, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health; Atlanta, GA: 2006. [Google Scholar]
[16] Andrews, A., Shirley, N., Ojukwu, E., Robinson, M., Torok, M., Wilson, K (2015). Is Secondhand Smoke Exposure Associated With Increased Exacerbation Severity Among Children Hospitalized for Asthma? Hospital Pediatrics May 2015, VOLUME 5 / ISSUE 5 Research Articles.
[17] Mannino D, Siegel M, Husten C, Rose D, Etzel R. Environmental tobacco smoke exposure and health effects in children: results from the 1991 National Health Survey. Tob Control 1996;5:13–18 [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar].
[18] Weitzman M (1986). School absence rates as outcome measures in studies of children with chronic illness. J Chronic Dis. 1986; 39 (10): 799–808.
[19] Freeman NC, Schneider D, McGarvey P (2003). Household exposure factors, asthma, and school absenteeism in a predominantly Hispanic community. J Expo Anal Environ Epidemiol.2003; 13 (3): 169–176.
[20] Gilliland FD, Berhane K, Islam T (2003). Environmental tobacco smoke and absenteeism related to respiratory illness in schoolchildren. Am J Epidemiology. 2003; 157 (10): 861–869.
[21] Douglas E., Jonathan P and Rigotti N (2011). School Absenteeism Among Children Living With Smokers. Pediatrics October 2011, VOLUME 128 / ISSUE 4 Article.
[22] Semba, R., Kalm, L., Pee, S., Ricks, M., Sari, M., & Bloem, M. (2007). Paternal smoking is associated with increased risk of child malnutrition among poor urban families in Indonesia. Public Health Nutrition, 10 (1), 7-15. doi: 10.1017/S136898000722292X.
[23] Abu Naser Zafar Ullah, Rumana Huque, Salma Akter, Shammi Nasreen, Humaira Akter, Heather Thomson, Ian Cameron, James Nicholas Newell, and Kamran Siddiqi (2013). Children's exposure to second-hand smoke at home in Bangladesh: a community survey. BMJ open. 2013; 3 (11).e003059.
[24] Gariballa S and Foster S, (2009) Effects of Smoking on Nutritional Status and Response to Dietary Supplements during Acute Illness. Nutrition Clinical practice 24 (1) 84-90.
[25] Kluger, R, ashes to Ashes: America’s Hundred years of Cigarette War, the public Health and the unabashed Triumph of Phillip Moris (New York; Alfred A. Knoff Inc; 1996).
Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Elizabeth Mwaniki, Judith Waswa. (2019). Effects of Second Hand Smoking on the Health of School Children in Awendo, Kenya. Central African Journal of Public Health, 5(6), 266-271. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cajph.20190506.17

    Copy | Download

    ACS Style

    Elizabeth Mwaniki; Judith Waswa. Effects of Second Hand Smoking on the Health of School Children in Awendo, Kenya. Cent. Afr. J. Public Health 2019, 5(6), 266-271. doi: 10.11648/j.cajph.20190506.17

    Copy | Download

    AMA Style

    Elizabeth Mwaniki, Judith Waswa. Effects of Second Hand Smoking on the Health of School Children in Awendo, Kenya. Cent Afr J Public Health. 2019;5(6):266-271. doi: 10.11648/j.cajph.20190506.17

    Copy | Download

  • @article{10.11648/j.cajph.20190506.17,
      author = {Elizabeth Mwaniki and Judith Waswa},
      title = {Effects of Second Hand Smoking on the Health of School Children in Awendo, Kenya},
      journal = {Central African Journal of Public Health},
      volume = {5},
      number = {6},
      pages = {266-271},
      doi = {10.11648/j.cajph.20190506.17},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cajph.20190506.17},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.cajph.20190506.17},
      abstract = {Exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS) can cause diseases and deaths among children. Yet children continue to be exposed especially among the low income countries. Epidemiological evidence shows that children of smoking parents have increased risk of neuro-behavioral deficits, neurodevelopmental deficits and childhood cancer. The aim of this study was to find out if children living in low-income countries are still exposed to SHS and its additional burden on the health and school absenteeism among children in the rural setting. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in February-March 2016. A 2-stage cluster-sample design was used to obtain a representative sample (N=600) of private and public primary day school students year 7 and 8 (aged 12-15 years old) in Awendo. A higher proportion (55.5%) of the younger children lived with one or more than two smokers in the home. A modest proportion of children reported complete restriction of smoking at home. The risk of Asthmatic attack increased by more than three fold and more than ten fold among children living with one smoker and among those living with more than two smokers respectively. Smoking has been associated with poor dietary intake, in this case children living with smokers were found to be significantly malnourished. Successful smoking cessation among residents living with children could contribute to decreased asthmatic attacks, malnutrition and school absenteeism.},
     year = {2019}
    }
    

    Copy | Download

  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Effects of Second Hand Smoking on the Health of School Children in Awendo, Kenya
    AU  - Elizabeth Mwaniki
    AU  - Judith Waswa
    Y1  - 2019/10/17
    PY  - 2019
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cajph.20190506.17
    DO  - 10.11648/j.cajph.20190506.17
    T2  - Central African Journal of Public Health
    JF  - Central African Journal of Public Health
    JO  - Central African Journal of Public Health
    SP  - 266
    EP  - 271
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2575-5781
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cajph.20190506.17
    AB  - Exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS) can cause diseases and deaths among children. Yet children continue to be exposed especially among the low income countries. Epidemiological evidence shows that children of smoking parents have increased risk of neuro-behavioral deficits, neurodevelopmental deficits and childhood cancer. The aim of this study was to find out if children living in low-income countries are still exposed to SHS and its additional burden on the health and school absenteeism among children in the rural setting. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in February-March 2016. A 2-stage cluster-sample design was used to obtain a representative sample (N=600) of private and public primary day school students year 7 and 8 (aged 12-15 years old) in Awendo. A higher proportion (55.5%) of the younger children lived with one or more than two smokers in the home. A modest proportion of children reported complete restriction of smoking at home. The risk of Asthmatic attack increased by more than three fold and more than ten fold among children living with one smoker and among those living with more than two smokers respectively. Smoking has been associated with poor dietary intake, in this case children living with smokers were found to be significantly malnourished. Successful smoking cessation among residents living with children could contribute to decreased asthmatic attacks, malnutrition and school absenteeism.
    VL  - 5
    IS  - 6
    ER  - 

    Copy | Download

Author Information
  • Department of Community and Public Health, Faculty of Science and Technology, Technical University of Kenya, Nairobi, Kenya

  • Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Science and Technology, Technical University of Kenya, Nairobi, Kenya

  • Sections