EFFECT OF SECOND-HAND SMOKE

Need some motivation to help you quit smoking? How about this: Researchers at the University of Montreal in Quebec report that children regularly exposed to second-hand tobacco smoke may show symptoms of nicotine dependence.

The study, published in this month's Addictive Behaviors journal, found that about 5% of kids studied reported at least one of the following: withdrawal-like symptoms and craving for cigarettes.

Unitl now, these psycho-behavioural symptoms were thought to occur only among smokers, the report says. But the participating children-all between 10 and12 years old- had never smoked themselves. The new evidence points to the addictive nature of second-hand smoke. - LAT-WP