GIVE UP THE WEED, DAD

DOPE-smoking dads double the risk of cot death, a survey in California reveals.

Hilary Klonoff-Cohen and Phung Lam-Kruglick at the University of
California, San Diego, wanted to find out if drugs such as marijuana
increase the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). They
interviewed the parents of 239 infants who had died of SIDS,
comparing them with those of 239 healthy infants.

They found that the risk doubled when fathers used cannabis,
regardless of whether this was around conception, during pregnancy or
after birth. But surprisingly, the study didn't reveal any increase
in risk with maternal use.

This may be because so few women in the study smoked cannabis or
admitted to it, Klonoff-Cohen reports. Or it could be because men
smoke more cannabis, more often than women.

Why dope should increase the risk of SIDS even at conception isn't
clear. But the key ingredient, tetrahydrocannabinol, closely
resembles a signalling chemical in the body called anandamide that
affects sperm and embryos.

"I would emphasise that the major problem is maternal tobacco smoking
when pregnant, rather than these other drugs," says Ed Mitchell, a
SIDS expert at Auckland University in New Zealand. This can make the
risk of SIDS as much as 15 times higher.

More at: Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine (vol 155, p765)