As adults we are made aware of the dangers that we pose to ourselves and the people around us when we smoke. Smoking is a stress reliever for many people and is highly addictive making it a hard habit to break. However, in exchange for a bit of relief throughout the day you are staining your teeth, living with bad breath, and killing your lungs.

It is one thing for adults to smoke and to knowingly hurt themselves in the process - but when they smoke around young children they are also hurting them with their second-hand smoke - which can be just as bad and can hurt their lungs.

On Monday Maine will join other states as well as a few provinces in Canada who have made it illegal for anyone to smoke in a car while a child is with them. For the first year that the law is in effect violators will only be receiving warnings.

The law was passed by Legislature earlier this year that prevented someone from smoking in the car while a child of 16 and under was present. Arkansas, California, and Louisiana have already passed laws that are similar to this while other states have only looked at the proposal - but have not adopted it.

Governor John Baldacci of Maine felt that the new law was a strike against second-hand smoke and stands firm in his belief that tobacco products and the usage of them takes too many lives and too much money is spent on it. The federal Environmental Protection Agency, which urges smoke-free homes and cars, says secondhand smoke increases the number of asthma attacks and severity of asthma symptoms as well as lower respiratory tract infections for children under 18 months of age.

Developing lungs of young children are severely affected by exposure to secondhand smoke, the EPA says. Children receiving high doses of secondhand smoke, such as those with smoking mothers, run the greatest risk of damaging health effects. The U.S. Surgeon General also warns of links between secondhand smoke exposure and cancer and heart disease.

Doctors at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia discovered the first gene that they believe might be connected to a form of neuroblastoma. Neorublastoma is a type of cancer that many doctors believe is inherited.

The doctors discovered the gene when they were decoding DNA samples from members of 10 different families who suffered from the disease. These new findings could help to advance the first genetic screening tests for those who have inherited the cancer.

Doctors diagnose 600 to 750 cases a year of the childhood cancer. About half of those cases clear up spontaneously. In the other half, the disease has a 30 percent to 40 percent survival rate.

ALK-inhibiting drugs are being tested against lymphoma and lung cancer in adults, and the Children’s Hospital researchers plan to start testing those same drugs on high-risk neuroblastoma patients in hopes that it will help many patients.

Autism is a mystery condition that affects 1 in every 150 kids. As much as researchers have studied it they have not been able to discover what causes it. Many researchers believe that certain children are more likely to be affected by autism because it or other disorders like it run in the family.

The brain contains over 100 billion nerve cells called neurons. Each neuron may have hundreds or thousands of connections that carry messages to other nerve cells in the brain and body. The connections and the chemical messengers they send (called neurotransmitters) let the neurons that help you see, feel, move, remember, and work together as they should.

For some reason, some of the cells and connections in the brain of a kid with autism — especially those that affect communication, emotions, and senses — don’t develop properly or get damaged. That is why some children with autism have difficulty socializing with other kids their age.

Sarcoidosis is the inflammation that can cause tiny lumps of cells in certain organs of the body. These lumps are referred to as granulose because the resemble sand or lumps of sugar. They can only be spotted when seen underneath the microscope.

The granulomas can clump and grow together to form several larger groups of lumps. If too many of formed in an organ it can seriously affect how the organ is used and can lead to symptoms of acidosis.

Sarcoidosis can occur in almost any part of your body - but usually starts in one of two places:

Lungs
Lymph nodes, especially the lymph nodes in your chest cavity.

However, it can also affect your:

Skin
Eyes
Liver.
Spleen
Brain
Nerves
Heart
Tear glands
Salivary glands
Bones and joints.

Schizophrenia is a severe and chronic brain disorder that disables close to 1.1% of the U.S. who are over the age of 18 in one year. People who suffer from this disorder will hear strange voices that other people cannot hear and they believe that the people around them are broadcasting their thoughts for them to hear. They also become fearful that many people will harm them.

Because of these symptoms patients suffering from schizophrenia will be in a constant state of fear. They will with withdraw from people and become quite difficult when others try to help them and get close to them.

Symptoms usually develop in men in their late teens or early twenties and women in the twenties and thirties, but in rare cases, can appear in childhood. They can include hallucinations, delusions, disordered thinking, movement disorders, flat affect, social withdrawal, and cognitive deficits.

This is a time of hope for people with schizophrenia. Although the causes of the disease have not yet been determined, current treatments can eliminate many of the symptoms and allow people with schizophrenia to live independent and fulfilling lives in the community.