Indoor maternal smoking doubles adolescents' exhaled carbon monoxide.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of indoor smoking. Exhaled carbon monoxide (CO) concentrations were measured on a CO monitor by a vital capacity manoeuvre in three groups of adolescents: non-smokers with non-smoking families, non-smokers with smoking mothers, and smokers. Each group included eight families. Smokers had higher exhaled CO (mean +/- SD, 35.67 +/- 14.62 ppm) than non-smokers with smoking mothers (6 +/- 2.5 ppm) and non-smokers (2.37 +/- 0.56 ppm), late in the evening (21.00 h). The levels of exhaled CO in non-smoking adolescents doubled if their mothers smoked.


CONCLUSIONS
Exhaled CO can be used as an indicator of indoor smoking. Maternal smoking plays a major role in the health of adolescents.
Gourgoulianis
K I
KI
Department of Pulmonary, University of Thessaly, Larissa, Greece. kgourg@med.uth.gr
Gogou
E
E
Hamos
V
V
Molyvdas
P A
PA
D000293:Adolescent; D016902:Air Pollution, Indoor / Q000009:adverse effects; D001944:Breath Tests; D002248:Carbon Monoxide / Q000032:analysis*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects; D005195:Family Relations; D005260:Female; D006115:Greece; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D012016:Reference Values; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects*; D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution / Q000009:adverse effects*
D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution; D002248:Carbon Monoxide