http://www.tobacco.org/newsfeed/category/sids.rss Latest top tobacco news headlines en-us http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-10/kp-uaf100108.php http://tobacco.org/news/272192.html Infants who slept in a bedroom with a fan ventilating the air had a 72 percent lower risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome compared to infants who slept in a bedroom without a fan, according to a new study by the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research. The study appears in the October issue of the Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine. This is the first study to examine an association between better air ventilation in infants' bedrooms and reduced SIDS risk. . . . They explained that fan use is no substitute for practices known to reduce the risk for sudden infant death syndrome, which include: always placing infants to sleep on their backs, putting infants to sleep on firm mattresses and avoiding soft bedding materials like comforters and quilts, providing a separate sleep environment, preventing infants from overheating, and not smoking around infants. EurekAlert danielle.x.cass@kp.org Mon, 06 Oct 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-08/ats-sdp082708.php http://tobacco.org/news/270485.html Premature infants whose mothers smoked during pregnancy may be at even higher risk for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) than preemies whose mothers did not smoke, according to new research out of the University of Calgary. In the first-ever experimental study to compare the breathing reflexes of preemies of smokers versus non-smokers, researchers found that babies whose mothers had smoked showed a number of signs of impaired respiratory function. "Smoking during pregnancy is a double-edged sword with respect to SIDS," said Shabih Hasan, M.D., a staff neonatologist and professor in the department of pediatrics at the University of Calgary, and the principal investigator of the new study. "Not only does it raise a mother's likelihood of having a preterm baby, who is already among the most vulnerable to SIDS, but it increases the infant's susceptibility to SIDS even further." The research will be published in the first issue for September of the American Thoracic Society's American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. EurekAlert ksavoie@thoracic.org Canada Fri, 29 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://healthday.com/Article.asp?AID=618865 http://tobacco.org/news/270480.html Babies born prematurely to women who smoked during their pregnancy may be at higher risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) than premature infants born to nonsmoking moms, new research suggests. The Canadian study is the first to compare the breathing reflexes of "preemies" born to smokers versus nonsmokers. The researchers found that these tiny babies were more likely to have impaired recovery from pauses in breathing if their mother had smoked during her pregnancy. "Our study shows that preterm infants make incomplete and/or delayed recovery from interruptions in breathing," study author and neonatologist Dr. Shabih Hasan, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Calgary, said in an American Thoracic Society news release. "This has clear implications for their risk of SIDS." The study, published in the first issue for September of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, involved 22 infants born spontaneously between 28 and 32 weeks of gestation HealthDay [HealthScout] editors@healthday.com Canada Fri, 29 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.medwire-news.md/48/75864/Respiratory/Prenatal_cigarette_smoke_exposure_affects_infants_cardiorespiratory_control.html http://tobacco.org/news/267530.html Prenatal cigarette smoke exposure, the main risk factor for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), has an adverse effect on spontaneous recovery of breathing pauses and oxygen saturation during hypoxemia in preterm infants, researchers report. Preterm infants are among the most vulnerable groups for SIDS, but the effects of prenatal cigarette smoke exposure and hypoxemia on their cardio-respiratory control have not been investigated, explain Shabih Hasan and colleagues from the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada, in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. MedWire News Tue, 24 Jun 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23810272-662,00.html http://tobacco.org/news/266466.html A THIRD of babies whose parents smoke at home end up in hospital before their first birthday, research shows. But Australian experts say many parents continue to endanger their children's health by smoking around them, despite overwhelming evidence of the risks. Doctors have found passive smoking weakens babies' immune systems and puts them at higher risk of potentially lethal infectious diseases. The study, published on the respected Tobacco Control journal's website, followed 7402 children born in 1997 for eight years Melbourne Herald Sun news@heraldsun.com.au (Jen Kelly) Australia Thu, 05 Jun 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=194e04cf-5676-4fcf-be74-921fd4d9f721 http://tobacco.org/news/266280.html Mothers who smoke while pregnant increase the risk of sudden infant death syndrome, according to new research from the University of Calgary. And overheating babies - whether it's from over-wrapping them at night or increasing their room temperature above 20C - also raises the risk of crib death, according to the research. "For a long time, the knowledge of smoking being a risk factor has been there, as well as putting the baby face-down or overheating," says George Dalekos, chairman of the SIDS Calgary Society. "There's never been any scientific data that actually support that so, for me, this is exciting stuff." Shabih Hasan, a professor in the department of pediatrics at the University of Calgary's faculty of medicine, led the research, which is the first animal study to examine the effects of cigarette smoke rather than nicotine. Montreal Gazette Canada Sat, 31 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-05/uoc-nrs053008.php http://tobacco.org/news/266276.html New research at the University of Calgary shows that smoking while pregnant, as well as thermal stress, can lead to an increased risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Increased ambient temperature such as over-wrapping a baby at night time or increasing the room temperature can affect the baby's pattern of breathing. Other known contributing factors to SIDS include babies sleeping in a belly-down position and exposure to cigarette smoke. Combining any of these factors with thermal stress may put babies at greater risk. "Addressing these risk factors through tobacco reduction programs as well as better infant care practices could potentially decrease the incidence of SIDS," says Dr. Shabih Hasan, Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Calgary Faculty of Medicine who led the study. EurekAlert marta.cyperling@ucalgary.ca Fri, 30 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-05/ats-sdp052808.php http://tobacco.org/news/266168.html A new study provides the most direct evidence that there exists a causal link between smoking during pregnancy and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Clinicians have long considered prenatal cigarette smoke exposure a major contributing risk factor for SIDS, but researchers had not proved a casual relationship. Other contributing factors include disturbances of breathing and heart rate regulation and impaired arousal responses, thermal stress (primarily overheating from too high temperatures or too much clothing) and sleeping in the prone (belly-down) position. "Since the advocacy of 'back to sleep position,' smoking during pregnancy has become the principal risk factor for SIDS," said Dr. Shabih Hasan, staff neonatologist and associate professor in the department of pediatrics at the University of Calgary, and the principal investigator of the new study, which appears in the first issue for June of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, a publication of the American Thoracic Society. EurekAlert ksavoie@thoracic.org Fri, 30 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.southbendtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080320/Opinion/973218647/-1/XML http://tobacco.org/news/261711.html This is a great country, but we're not perfect, and tobacco is a prime example of many of our flaws. In order for us to produce tobacco, many American Indians lost their lands and their lives, many Africans lost their freedom and their heritage, and the land itself was overused until much of it could no longer support agriculture. . . . Since starting my training more than 30 years ago, I have participated in the care of more than 10,000 critically ill infants. Many of those kids were born early or ill because of maternal tobacco use; some died, and hundreds more lived with permanent disabilities linked to exposure to tobacco. . . . Proposed legislation in Indiana and other state legislatures could help, but more needs to be done. It is wrong for our health care institutions to hold investments in tobacco companies. It is wrong for 401K and other self-directed investments to have no options available to individuals who would like to place their money into a tobacco-free fund, or more generally, into socially responsible investing. Our government should help -- it was complicit in many of the tobacco industry's misdeeds for more than 200 years, so there is still a lot of work to be done to replace that history with one that protects the innocents and our land. As a society, it is time for us to kick this ugly, dirty and addictive scourge. Otherwise, aren't we as guilty as our forefathers in passing it on as an inheritance to our children? South Bend Tribune webmaster@sbtinfo.com (DR. ROBERT WHITE) Thu, 20 Mar 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.healthday.com/Article.asp?AID=607461 http://tobacco.org/news/261356.html While new research suggests that putting a baby to sleep with a pacifier may reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome, putting your baby to sleep on his or her back and not exposing the baby to smoke before or after birth are the two most important steps parents can take to reduce the risk of SIDS, according to child care experts. "We can't guarantee that we can prevent SIDS deaths, but we can reduce the risk as best as possible," explained Dr. Fern Hauck, an associate professor of family medicine and public health sciences at the University of Virginia Health System. About 2,250 American babies still succumb to SIDS each year HealthDay [HealthScout] editors@healthday.com (Serena Gordon) Fri, 07 Mar 2008 05:00:00 GMT http://www.wral.com/news/news_briefs/story/2559454/ http://tobacco.org/news/261213.html Spring Lake, N.C. -- An 11-month-old girl whose remains were found in her mother's attic last fall had nicotine in her system, according to a recently released toxicology report. Authorities found the body of Harmony Jade Creech on Oct. 20 in the attic of the home her mother, Johni Michelle Heuser, was renting in Spring Lake. The baby had been wrapped in a plastic bag and stuffed in an empty diaper box in a corner of the attic, authorities said. . . . Heuser, 25, of 1680 Ray Road in Spring Lake, has been charged with first-degree murder in the case. She told investigators that she found the baby dead in her crib weeks earlier and hid the death out of fear. WRAL-TV Tue, 11 Mar 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/86246.php http://tobacco.org/news/254158.html The Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths (FSID) welcomes the research (1) from the FSID Research Unit at Bristol University. Professor George Haycock, FSID's scientific adviser says: "The figures show that maternal smoking is now the most important avoidable risk factor for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). "If no women smoked in pregnancy, about 60 per cent of cot deaths could be avoided. This means that in the UK the number of deaths could fall from around 300 a year to 120 a year." Cot death is still the biggest killer of babies over one month old in the UK today, claiming more lives than road traffic accidents, leukaemia and meningitis put together. Medical News TODAY UK Mon, 22 Oct 2007 04:00:00 GMT http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article2689886.ece http://tobacco.org/news/254029.html The parents of a baby boy who died in his cot have been told by a pathologist that their smoking habits may have been a major factor. At an inquest at Tameside Coroner's Court, Melanie Newbould, a pathologist, said that she could not be sure why Jake Dunning, seven weeks old, had died but that passive smoking may have played a part. The evidence follows a study, published this week, that suggests a clear link between passive smoking and cot death. . . . Jake's mother and father, Ryan Dunning, both in their twenties, were distraught about the findings. Times Of London UK Fri, 19 Oct 2007 04:00:00 GMT http://news.scotsman.com/health.cfm?id=1644282007 http://tobacco.org/news/253769.html NINE out of ten mothers who lose a baby to cot death are smokers, a new study has concluded. The comprehensive study, carried out at Bristol University's Institute of Child Life and Health, reviewed existing evidence from numerous studies on smoking and cot death. Professor Peter Fleming, the co-author of the report, entitled "Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and Parental Smoking", said: "What we have been trying to do is look at the whole impact of exposure, both before and after birth, to smoking and its adverse effects." The Scotsman onthespot@scotlandonsunday.com (ALISON KERSHAW) UK Mon, 15 Oct 2007 04:00:00 GMT http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/22065/Smoking-is-prime-cause-of-cot-death http://tobacco.org/news/253768.html Nine out of 10 mothers who have lost children through cot death smoked during pregnancy, a report claims. Women who smoke when expecting a child are four times more likely to lose it through Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), the study says. The report out this week could hold the key to the mystery of cot death, which has brought heartache to thousands of families. And it will place pressure on the Government to tighten anti-smoking legislation - perhaps paving the way for a ban on sales of tobacco to pregnant women. The [London, UK] Express news.desk@express.co.uk (Jo Willey) UK Mon, 15 Oct 2007 04:00:00 GMT