|Where there’s smoke, there’s lower grade|
If you want your kids to go to college, you better quit smoking: Kids who inhale secondhand smoke have lower math and reading scores, according to a study in Environmental Health Perspectives. Researchers measured levels of cotinine, a marker for tobacco smoke exposure, in the blood of more than 4,000 kids ages 6 to 16 after they took reading, math and reasoning tests. The higher the cotinine levels, the lower the test scores. Doctors think smoke may affect brain function by changing the nervous system’s structure and depriving kids of oxygen.