If you have a male colleague in his 30s who smoke, you’ll probably hear this answer when you ask the question:Â So, when are you going to quit?
“Aiya, when my kid is born lor. Don’t want him to learn from me.”
Now, while that is a noble goal, a new Taiwan study reveals something even more sinister.
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Kids With Fathers Who Smoke At Risk Of Getting Asthma
Okay, before all the smokers reading this article bury me in SAR21 bullets, here’s a couple of disclaimers.
- As with all studies, this only identified a relation, not a cause-and-effect thing
- Don’t shoot the messenger.
Okay, now that’s out of the way, let’s continue.
A recent Taiwan study found that babies in wombs who are exposed to secondhand smoke (i.e. tobacco smoke from fathers) have a higher chance of getting asthma by age 6.
How The Study Was Conducted
The researchers followed 756 (read: a lot) babies.
Almost 25% of them are exposed to cigarette smoke in the womb. Only 3 mothers smoked
31% of kids with dads who smoked developed asthma by age 6 while 23% of kids with dads who don’t smoke developed asthma.
And that’s not all. The number of cigarettes matters too.
It was found that kids who are born to fathers who are heavier smokers (read: who smokes more than one pack a day) has a higher chance of developing asthma.
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It Wrecks Havoc On The DNA Level
Now, here’s the part that makes the study a bit more believable.
They extracted the baby’s DNA from the cord blood for study.
And they found that the more the dads smoke (or the kids’ exposure to the tobacco smoke), the more methylation is increased on stretches of three specific genes.
And these genes play a role in immune function.
In Other Words
It’s not only the mom that has to quit smoking. The dad has to man up and do it too.
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Now, if you can’t quit? Cut down. Or, at least, don’t smoke around your wife and unborn kid.
Because as the study shows, the kind of dad you are will affect your child’s future. Sort of.
And we all know that we want to be the best damn dad possible, right?
Now, if you need something to motivate you to quit smoking, this might just do the trick for you:
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