Smoking in your teens could harm brain development and hearing, doctors have warned. A study has shown young smokers are more likely to suffer hearing problems, making it harder for them to focus in class.
Researchers say this in turn may cause their schoolwork to suffer, with boys being particularly badly affected. Dr Leslie Jacobsen said: “The levels of disruption (to hearing) are significant enough that if you were already struggling at school it could tip you towards school failure.” It is thought the brain is particularly vulnerable to the effects of tobacco during adolescence, when it rapidly matures. Around 80 percent of Britain’s 12million smokers took up the habit during their teenage years with a quarter of girls while one in six boys regular smokers by the age of 15.
Dr Jacobsen, a paediatric psychiatrist at Yale University looked at the effect of smoking and brain development in a group of youngsters aged between 14 and 19.The 67 boys and girls included some smokers, some nonsmokers and some whose mothers had smoked during pregnancy. Brain scans showed clear differences in the structure of the white matter – the tissue responsible for carrying signals between brain cells – in those who smoked themselves, or whose mothers had smoked.
The changes, found in the regions responsible for relaying signals to the ear, were greatest in the smokers, suggesting the brain is at heightened risk while maturing during adolescence, the magazine New Scientist reports. An earlier study carried out by the same researchers found teenagers who smoke find it harder to listen when distracted by other things going on around them. It is thought nicotine is to blame, interfering with the creation of brain connections that help us listen while distracted. Dr Richard Todd, a child psychiatrist in the US state of Missouri, said the study added to research showing nicotine can affect brain development in the womb. “It seems the brain remains vulnerable long into adolescence,” he said.
Accidents on national highways showing declining trend : National Highways and Motorway Police (NH&MP) registered 460 accidents on national highways during 2011 as compared to 686 in 2009. The accident comparison of last three years reflects that during 2009, 686 accidents were registered with 526 deaths and 1,645 injuries, during 2010, 564 accidents with 423 deaths and 1,363 injuries while during 2011, 460 accidents, 407 deaths and injuries to 1,291 persons.
The measures adopted by the Ministry of Communications is paying off as the continuation of road safety drives and production of sensible/disciplined drivers, the overall road safety situation on highways and motorway is improving with each passing year, an official said here on Monday. He said in order to bring traffic discipline and put a check on accidents, it is essential to change mindset of road users.
In this regard, National Highways & Motorway Police (NH&MP) is striving hard and has made road safety education campaigns as a primary objective of its overall enforcement strategy, the official added.
