Grant: Operating Grant

Recent surveys show that many children and teenagers in Canada live with smokers at home and inhale secondhand smoke. Quebec is the province where the percentage of smokers is highest, which means that children and teenagers in Quebec are more likely to live with a smoker than anywhere else in Canada. Importantly, inhaling secondhand smoke is linked to serious diseases, even among non-smokers. Studies now show that inhaling secondhand smoke is not only linked to diseases, but possibly also to starting to smoke. Scientists have found that non-smoking children who inhale secondhand smoke are more likely to start smoking when they are teenagers, compared to children who do not inhale secondhand smoke. Other scientists have found that non-smoking adults who inhale secondhand smoke at work are more likely to feel negative physical sensations similar to withdrawal effects. Another group of scientists found that non-smoking children who inhale secondhand smoke are more likely to report having symptoms of feeling dependent on nicotine (the addictive substance in cigarettes). Scientists can measure exposure to secondhand smoke in people's saliva or hair. Recently, scientists found that the speed with which people metabolize nicotine in their body is determined by certain DNA genes. Our project seeks to recruit students in 7th grade in French-speaking high schools, a time that is typically before students start smoking. Students will answer questions about their beliefs about smoking and its consequences. We will collect a saliva and hair sample to measure exposure to secondhand smoke. We will also rub a swab on the inside of their mouth to help us identify the gene for nicotine metabolism. The students will be contacted twice each year during high school so we can identify those who start smoking. The aim of the study is to see whether there is a physiological pathway, due to secondhand smoke exposure, that leads to increased smoking risk.