Childrens Health:Breastfeeding protects against environmental pollution ♦ Babies can think before they can speak ♦ Teen e-cigarette usage triples

Breastfeeding protects against environmental pollution Living in a city with a high level of vehicle traffic or close to a steel works means living with two intense sources of environmental pollution. However, a study indicates that the harmful pollution particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide disappears in breastfed babies during the first four months of life. According to the results of the research, breastfeeding plays a protective role in the presence of these two atmospheric pollutants.

Parents are integral in stopping rise as teen e-cigarette usage triples Though many think e-cigarettes are helping to reduce the number of smokers in the US, research is showing the opposite is true when it comes to teens. Experts recently released data showing that in just one year the number of middle and high school students using e-cigarettes has tripled.

Earthquakes prove to be an unexpected help in interpreting brain activity of very premature babies Researchers have created a "brainstorm barometer" that allows computers to calculate the brain functions of very premature babies during their first hours of life. The new research method is based on the hypothesis that the brainstorms generated by the billions of neurons inside a baby's head are governed by the same rules as other massive natural phenomena, such as earthquakes, forest fires or snow avalanches.

Babies can think before they can speak Analogical ability -- the ability to see common relations between objects, events or ideas -- is a key skill that underlies human intelligence and differentiates humans from other apes. While there is considerable evidence that preschoolers can learn abstract relations, it remains an open question whether infants can as well.Researchers found infants are capable of learning the abstract relations of same and different after only a few examples.

Childrens Health: Pollution lowers birth weigh ♦ Premature girls thrive more than premature boys ♦ Technology reduces distracted driving among teens

Adolescent brain on alcohol: Changes last into adulthood Repeated alcohol exposure during adolescence results in long-lasting changes in the region of the brain that controls learning and memory.

Outsmarting smartphones: Technology reduces distracted driving among teens Technology can bolster efforts by parents, lawmakers and insurance companies to reduce distracted driving among novice teen drivers,.

Beijing Olympics study links pollution to lower birth weight Exposure to high levels of pollution can have a significant impact on fetal growth and development. Their study found that women who were pregnant during the 2008 Beijing Olympics, when pollution levels were reduced by the Chinese government, gave birth to children with higher birth weights.

Evidence that premature girls thrive more than premature boys A new study provides further evidence that female infants tend to do better than males when born prematurely. The study found that female infants independently orally fed one day earlier than males. The ability to suck, swallow and breathe simultaneously are reflexes that many premature infants are unable to do.

Brain differences seen in children with dyslexia, dysgraphia Structural brain differences between children with dyslexia and dysgraphia and children who are typical language learners have been observed by researchers in a recent study.The findings prove that using a single category of learning disability to qualify for special education services is not scientifically supported.

Youth tobacco smoking rates putting millions at risk of premature death

More than 1 in 5 High School Students currently uses tobacco

Almost 23 percent of high school students currently use a tobacco product, according to new data published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in today’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). Of particular concern, more than 90 percent of those using a tobacco product are using combustible tobacco products such as cigarettes, cigars, hookahs, and pipes.

Extensive use of combustible products is of special concern because tobacco smoking causes most of the tobacco-related disease and death in the United States. The 50th Anniversary Surgeon General’s Report released last January concluded that unless youth smoking rates drop rapidly, 5.6 million youth currently aged 0 to 17 will die early from a cigarette smoking-related illness.

“Nine out of ten smokers tried their first cigarette by age 18,” said Tim McAfee, M.D., M.P.H., Director of the CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health. “We must do more to prevent our youth from using tobacco products, or we will see millions of them suffer and die prematurely as adults. Fully implementing proven tobacco control programs would help keep our youth from falling victim to tobacco.”

CDC’s National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS) found that in 2013, 22.9 percent of high school students and 6.5 percent of middle school students reported using a tobacco product within the last 30 days.  Nearly half (46 percent) of all high school students and 17.7 percent of middle school students said they had used a tobacco product at least once in their lifetime. The survey also found that 12.6 percent of high school students say they currently use two or more tobacco products.

Youth who say they use more than one tobacco product are at higher risk for developing nicotine dependence that can lead to continued smoking into adulthood. Most youth who use tobacco believe they will be able to quit, but about three out of four high school smokers continue smoking into adulthood.

Among all high school students, 4.5 percent reported using e-cigarettes within the last 30 days; and 1.1 percent of middle school students reported using e-cigarettes in the last 30 days. While the impact of electronic cigarette use on public health remains uncertain, the 2014 Surgeon General’s report found that nicotine use can have adverse effects on adolescent brain development. Therefore, nicotine use by youth in any form- combusted, smokeless, or electronic- is unsafe.

Cigarettes were the most prevalent tobacco product used by white and Hispanic high school students (14.0 percent and 13.4 percent), although cigars were close behind (11.4 percent and 12.1 percent). Cigar use was more prevalent than cigarette use for other races/ethnicities.  Cigar use among black high school students was nearly 50 percent higher than cigarette use (14.7 percent vs. 9.0 percent), and more than twice as high (4.5 percent vs 1.7 percent) among black middle school students.

Cigars are currently unregulated by FDA and are taxed at a lower rate. Some cigars are manufactured with fruit and candy flavors prohibited in cigarettes, and sold in small quantities with youth able to buy them at low cost.

“One effective strategy for reducing tobacco use among youth is raising the price,” said Brian King Ph.D., a Senior Scientific Advisor with CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health. “The Food and Drug Administration’s new youth-focused media campaign, “The Real Cost,” is also expected to lead to reductions in youth tobacco use.”

Cigarette smoking is the leading preventable cause of disease and death in the United States, killing more than 480,000 Americans each year.  For every death, there are about 32 Americans living with a smoking-related disease. Besides the human cost, smoking takes a devastating toll on our nation’s economy, costing more than $289 billion a year (including at least $133 billion in direct medical care for adults and more than $156 billion in lost productivity).

Today’s article is released to coincide with the 39th anniversary of the Great American Smokeout, which will be held on November 20, 2014. Surveys show about 70 percent of all smokers want to quit, and research shows quitting completely at any age has health benefits. Smokers can get free help quitting by calling 1-800-QUIT-NOW. CDC's Tips From Former Smokers campaign features real people living with the consequences of smoking-related diseases and offers additional quit resources at http://www.cdc.gov/tips, including cessation assistance developed by the National Cancer Institute.