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Adolescents with asthma 2x more likely to smoke

Adolescents with asthma are twice as likely as their healthy counterparts to smoke cigarettes and continue to smoke despite knowing it is bad for their lungs, according to study results presented at the American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology Annual Scientific Meeting.

“The researchers discovered that curiosity about cigarette smoking is the main reason why kids with asthma start smoking,” Bradley Chipps, MD, executive committee member of the American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology (ACAAI), said in a press release. “They then develop a greater dependence (22%) to nicotine compared [with] kids the same age who don’t have asthma (12%).”

Francisco Vazquez-Nava, PhD, from the Autonomous University of Tamaulipas in Mexico, and colleagues conducted a cross-sectional investigation of over 3,300 questionnaires from adolescents aged 13 to 19 years to determine the epidemiological profile of smoking and the degree of nicotine dependence among nicotine adolescents with asthma. Investigators then divided the participants into two study groups of adolescent smokers: one composed of asthmatic teens and the other of healthy counterparts.

Researchers found asthmatic teenagers were more likely to smoke and to have some degree of nicotine dependence compared to healthy teens (21.6% compared to 11.8%). The questionnaire data revealed the most significant factor of smoking for kids aged 11 years and younger is curiosity about cigarettes, but the leading reason they continue smoking is because they believe it decreases their anxiety and stress.

“Despite their knowledge that smoking is bad for their health, the adolescents with asthma didn’t consider smoking to be a problem,” Chipps added in the release.

The surveyed adolescents indicated they knew smoking was addictive and harmful, but often smoked after waking up or when ill.

Tobacco smoke, including secondhand smoke, commonly triggers asthma, according to the press release. To better manage asthma and eliminate potential breathing trouble, the researchers emphasize that asthmatic adolescents avoid cigarette smoke exposure. – by Savannah Demko

Reference:
Vasquez-Nava F, et al. Abstract #P123. Presented at: American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology Annual Scientific Meeting; Nov. 11-14, 2016; San Francisco, California.

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.