A new study by Allison Kristman-Valente and colleagues in the UW School of Social Work examines the possiblity of a connection between
physical or sexual abuse and adolescent and adult smoking. The researchers found
that boys who had experienced either type of abuse and were smokers,
smoked more than those who hadn’t been abused as a child. For girls who
smoked, only those who had been sexually abused smoked more as
adolescents. That frequency of adolescent smoking by both girls and
boys, in turn, led to increased smoking in adulthood, especially among
women.
Kristman-Valente said what is of great concern is the fact that so
many women who were abused as children were smoking while raising
children, and that women who smoke frequently also are less successful
in smoking cessation programs.
Since tobacco use often begins in adolescence, researchers say it’s
important that public policies are in place to try to prevent kids from
lighting up a cigarette in the first place.
The paper is published online in the Journal of Adolescent Health.
