Second-hand smoke increases risk of diabetes, according to new report

A new study by scientists in Boston has found that the more second-hand smoke that people are exposed to, the higher the risk of them getting type 2 diabetes . The research showed that smoke from cigarettes can increase the chances of type 2 diabetes, both for smokers and other people around them exposed to their smoke.
The study, which was published in Diabetes Care and shows the possible risk of second-hand smoke for the first time, examined submitted questionnaires regarding the amount of time spent around cigarette smoke from over 100,000 female nurses participating in a national study since 1982.
It was found that the women who smoked more than two packs of cigarettes per day were at the highest risk of developing diabetes, with around 30 of the heavy smokers getting diabetes every year for each 10,000 women in the study, as compared with around 25 women who did not smoke and spent no time with smokers.
It was also shown that the risk was highest for those who used to smoke and for women exposed to second-hand smoke. Once factors including age, weight, and family history of diabetes were taken into account, ex-smokers had a 12 per cent greater risk of diabetes compared to women who were regularly exposed to second-hand smoke. However, it is recommended that people don’t continue to smoke just because smokers had a lower risk of developing diabetes in this study.