Passive smoking could increase the risk of developing diabetes, according to latest research. US sc...
Passive smoking could increase the risk of developing diabetes, according to latest research.
US scientists have found that inhaling other people's smoke increases the risk of developing glucose intolerance, the precursor to diabetes.
The study, first published in the British Medical Journal, examined 4,572 men and women in four cities in the US aged between 18 and 30 for 15 years.
Follow-up studies revealed 16.7% of participants had developed glucose intolerance.
Unsurprisingly, the incidence of glucose intolerance was highest among smokers - 21.8% - and lowest for non-smokers who had never smoked or been exposed to passive smoking, with only 11.5% developing the condition.
However, the research also discovered that 17.2% of people who had never smoked but breathed in passive smoke developed intolerance over the 15 years. This figure was even greater than for those who had previously smoked but had given up - with only 14.4% of them contracting it.
Zoe Harrison, care adviser at Diabetes UK, said: "We already know that smoking or even being in a smoky atmosphere is bad for us.
"If we needed another reason for banning smoking in public places, the risk of blindness, heart disease and amputation that can be caused by type II diabetes should be pretty compelling."
People already suffering from diabetes were hit with bad news this month as insulin that can be inhaled rather than injected has been rejected by the NHS due to cost.
The drug Exubera can be used by patients suffering from type I and II diabetes as an alternative to their daily drug injections.
But the £1,100 per person per year cost has made the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence ditch it.
