Smoking of parents affects their future children
Last reviewed: 16.10.2021
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Scientists from the American University of Massachusetts found that smoking parents, and especially the father, is badly reflected not only on their own health, but also on future children.
Researchers came to this conclusion by conducting an experiment on rodents, since metabolic processes in mice have much in common with human metabolism.
The experiment consisted of a permanent effect on nicotine in mice: in addition, scientists observed the health features of their offspring.
In the course of the study, it was found that the mouse organisms quickly recognized toxic substances and as quickly as possible, reacting to any pollutants of the environment and the atmosphere, and demonstrating more indicative resistance to adverse health effects. Specialists explained this phenomenon by the development of the addiction and adaptation of the organism to chemical toxic substances, as well as the acceleration of metabolic processes in the liver due to the expression of individual genes.
Moreover, a genetically established relationship was proved: such a person's stability is transmitted to his children. Initially, scientists took this information as a pleasant news for smokers - because their children are becoming more adapted to unfavorable conditions of existence. However, soon the other side of the coin opened.
Further experiments only confirmed the fears of experts: descendants born from couples who were exposed to nicotine exposure, inherited the hypertrophied tolerance of the organism to all sorts of chemicals, including medicines.
What can the received information say? Children whose fathers are inveterate smokers may suffer from a weakened susceptibility to certain types of medicines, which at some point may create considerable problems in the treatment of the child.
One of the direct participants of the study, Doctor of Science, Professor of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology Oliver Rando, pointed out that the "programmed" smoking of children of toxic smokers should still be studied, since it raises a whole host of additional questions:
- Does this mean that chemotherapy for such children will be unproductive?
- Will smoking in children change the attitude towards smoking - will the craving for nicotine be weakened or strengthen?
It may be that at some point, when the child will need to undergo a course of treatment, for example, with antibiotics, they simply will not work, and the treatment will not bring the proper result. Of course, this can create a mortal danger for a person, since an infectious disease simply has nothing to cure - the body will not respond positively to medications.
According to the press service of the Medical College of the University of Massachusetts, research on this topic will be continued. However, it now becomes clear that many parents have a reason to think about the health of their future children in advance.
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