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Ingestion of Cigarettes and Cigarette Butts by Children—Rhode Island, January 1994 - July 1996
The February 14, 1997 issue of the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention's (CDC) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
contains the article, "Ingestion of Cigarettes and Cigarette Butts Among
Children—Rhode Island, January 1994–July 1996." The study found that from January
1994 through July 1996, 146 children aged six months to two years had ingested cigarettes
or cigarette butts, and one-third of them experienced illness—the most common symptom
reported was vomiting. Most ingestions occurred in homes where children were exposed to
smoke and where cigarettes and ashtrays were kept within the reach of children.
The study also found the following:
- Children in households where cigarettes were smoked in their presence were
four times as likely to ingest cigarettes or cigarette butts as children in households
where smoking does not occur around children.
- The ages of children in the study who had ingested cigarettes or cigarette
butts were 6-24 months. Among children who had ingested cigarettes or cigarette butts the
highest number of exposures occurred among children aged 6-12 months (76.7%).
- A third of children who ingested cigarettes or cigarette butts developed
symptoms. Spontaneous vomiting occurred among 87 percent of children who developed
symptoms. Other symptoms included nausea, lethargy, gagging, and a pale or flushed
appearance.
Ingestion
of Cigarettes and Cigarette Butts by Children — Rhode Island, January
1994-July 1996 46(06);125-128, February 14, 1997
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