Vaping around kids raises asthma risk just as much as smoking

By Stephen Beech

Vaping around children raises the risk of them suffering an asthma attack just as much as smoking, reveals new research.

Exposure to e-cigarettes athome is as bad as tobacco smoke for asthma patients, according to the American study.

Doctors say their findings challenge common assumptions that vaping is a "safer" source of secondhand smoke than cigarettes or cigars.

The study showed that household exposure to e-cigarettes increases the risk of asthma flare-ups in children just as much as tobacco smoke.

Researchers used electronic health records from a diverse pediatric primary care network to study more than 48,000 clinic visits over a 33-month period where parents of children at least 1 year old with asthma reported on household tobacco and e-cigarette use.

Household use of tobacco and e-cigarettes was reported in 5% of clinic visits, tobacco-only in 9% and e-cigarette-only in 3% of the encounters.

Study leader Dr. Brian Jenssen said: "There is no safe level of tobacco or e-cigarette exposure when it comes to children.

"Parents and caregivers who use any tobacco or nicotine products should make every effort to quit, using evidence-based options like varenicline, nicotine replacement therapy, and counseling."

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The research team found that children exposed to both combustible tobacco and e-cigarettes in the home had the "broadest and strongest" links to poor asthma control.

They suffered more flare-ups, more nighttime and activity-related symptoms, more rescue inhaler use and more hospital admissions.

Tobacco-only exposure showed more modest effects across fewer measures.

But even e-cigarette-only exposure, on its own, was independently linked to more asthma attacks and more activity-related symptoms.

Jenssen, associate professor of pediatrics at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, said: "It reinforces the need for pediatric care teams to screen for all forms of household nicotine and tobacco use — not just cigarettes — and to offer cessation support for both, as part of routine asthma care."

He added: "Many parents believe e-cigarettes are a safer alternative to cigarettes, both for themselves and for their children's health.

"Our findings suggest that assumption doesn't fully hold up for kids with asthma."

Jenssen is due to present the findings at the American Academy of Pediatrics annual national conference in San Diego on Saturday, Oct. 3.