Smoking is bad for one's health. This is not even debated much anymore. There have been many warnings from medical practitioners about it over the years. Smoking doesn't just affect the person smoking, but second-hand smoke can be just as dangerous. A study shows that fathers who smoke could risk their offspring as well.
A Norwegian study has found that fathers who smoke could affect unborn offspring, according to Science Daily. The study has found that fathers who smoked before the age of 15 could increase the risk of their children having asthma. This effect could be found on male sperm cells.
Earlier, it has been reported that smoking could have a genetic effect on smokers, and the Norwegian study seems to confirm this. Professor Cecilie Svanes of the Centre for International Health, Department of Global Public Health and Primary Care, University of Belgium stated that smoking can cause genetic and epigenetic damage to human sperm cells. This damage could be transmitted to offspring which could lead to birth abnormalities.
Mothers who smoke also affect their kids, as asthma could among children of mothers who smoke around the time of pregnancy. However, the study also notes that no effect could be found when mothers only smoke prior to conception.
The environment that an offspring has prior to birth has an effect on it. Studies have shown that nutrition, hormones and the psychological environment play roles in the development of the child's organ structure as well as cellular response and gene expression. The role of the father in the development of the child in the womb is seen more in the molecules that control gene function, as News Medical reports.
The study also investigated whether welding could have an effect on the unborn child. It has been found that paternal welding prior to conception increased the risk of the child contracting asthma. The risk doesn't appear to be lessened even if welding has been stopped prior to conception.
The study shows the danger of smoking even for those around smokers. Its effect on an unborn child could also be seen as the study shows. Smoking has effects that can last for years, and in some cases, the effects could no longer be reversed.
