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Howard G. Smith, M.D. is a former radio medical editor and talk show host in the Boston Metro area. His "Medical Minute" of health and wellness news and commentary was a regular weekday feature on WBZ-AM, WRKO-AM, and WMRE-AM. His popular two-way talk show, Dr. Howard Smith OnCall, was regularly heard Sunday morning and middays on WBZ.

Dr. Smith has adopted audio and video podcasting as conduits for HEALTH NEWS YOU SHOULD USE. Based on the latest medical, health, and wellness literature these reports provide practical information you can use to keep yourself and your family healthy. Many reports have video versions, and Dr. Smith’s YouTube Channel may be found at: http://bit.ly/2rNw6XQ

Trained at Harvard Medical School and a long-time faculty member at Boston Children’s Hospital, he practiced Pediatric Otolaryngology for 40 years in Boston, Southern California, and in central Connecticut.  He is now based in New York City.

If you have questions or suggestions about this content, please email the doctor at drhowardsmith.reports@gmail.com or leave him a message at 516-778-8864.  His website is: www.drhowardsmith.com.

Please note that the news, views, commentary, and opinions that Dr. Smith provides are for informational purposes only. Any changes that you or members of your family contemplate making to lifestyle, diet, medications, or medical therapy should always be discussed beforehand with personal physicians who have been supervising your care.

Mar 9, 2019

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/NXClddt3bzI

Mothers who smoke, vape, or use oral and patch nicotine products may be exposing their unborn children to the risk of attention deficit and hyperactivity issues,ADHD, later in life.  A study from Finland just published in the journal Pediatrics studied over 1,000 children and matched controls born 10 years ago.  

The researchers studied serum samples from mothers collected during the first and second trimesters and measured the levels of cotinine, a biomarker for nicotine.  Then the mothers were divided into 3 groups according to serum nicotine levels during pregnancy.

Those mothers with the highest nicotine levels were more than 3 times more likely to have children suffering from ADHD.   Prior to this definitive study, there was no solid proof that the association was with nicotine.

If you love your children-to-be, don’t consume nicotine in any form by smoking tobacco, vaping, chewing nicotine gum, or placing patches during pregnancy.  Don’t expose your developing child to nicotine period!  Then, after you deliver, if you love your life, health, and family, don’t smoke or vape.

#nicotine #cotinine, ADHD #attentiondeficithyperactivitydisorder #vape #Nicolette #nicotinepatch

Andre Sourander, Minna Sucksdorff, Roshan Chudal, Heljä-Marja Surcel, Susanna Hinkka-Yli-Salomäki, David Gyllenberg, Keely Cheslack-Postava, Alan S. Brown. Prenatal Cotinine Levels and ADHD Among Offspring. Pediatrics, 2019; e20183144 DOI: 10.1542/peds.2018-3144