The study, published in BMJ Online First, doesn't prove that secondhand smoke causes glucose intolerance. But it does show an association between tobacco exposure -- including nonsmokers exposed to secondhand smoke -- and glucose intolerance.

Thomas Houston, MD, MPH, of Alabama's Birmingham Veterans Affairs Medical Center, helped conduct the study. He and his colleagues studied more than 4,600 young blacks and whites for 15 years.

Current cigarette smokers were most likely to develop glucose intolerance, which was defined as having diabetes or impaired fasting glucose (blood sugar). Having impaired fasting glucose is also referred to as prediabetes. Nonsmokers reporting secondhand-smoke exposure came in second, followed by former smokers. Nonsmokers without secondhand-smoke exposure were least likely to develop glucose intolerance, the study shows.

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http://www.webmd.com/content/article/120/113991.htm?z=1728_00000_5022_pe_01