THE LEDGER-STAR
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, September 21, 1994 TAG: 9409210603
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: NEW YORK TIMES
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Short : 29 lines
Mothers who smoke as few as 10 cigarettes a day cause their children under 5 to have positive blood tests for nicotine and cancer-causing compounds, a study has found.
``This is the first report that young children with relatively light exposure to environmental tobacco smoke have elevated levels'' of markers for nicotine and carcinogens from cigarettes, the researchers said in a report today in The Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
``This observation underscores the potential carcinogenic and public health hazard of environmental tobacco smoke.''
The mothers were light smokers, averaging 10 cigarettes a day, and none smoked as much as a pack of cigarettes per day.
The authors of the article estimate that 9 million children 5 and under in the United States are exposed to tobacco smoke.
KEYWORDS: SMOKING by CNB