Secondhand Smoke’s Effect on Kids
Secondhand smoking can have harmful effects on your baby or toddler
Today is a historic day for North Carolina as the no-smoking laws goes into effect. Even if you as parents don’t smoke, your baby or toddler can still suffer from secondhand smoke. Read the article below.
Secondhand smoke threatens everyone who inhales it, especially kids. Many young children live in a house with a smoker, and the result is an increased risk for health problems.
Secondhand smoke refers not only to the smoke given off by the burning end of a cigarette, pipe or cigar, but also to the smoke exhaled by smokers.
The California Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that 3,400 nonsmokers die of lung cancer each year because of secondhand smoke. It also causes 22,700 to 69,600 deaths from heart disease in nonsmokers. It’s so harmful the EPA labels it a Group A carcinogen, the category for the most harmful cancer-causing agents.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 25 percent of U.S. children between the ages of 3 and 11 live with at least one smoker in their homes. Children are more vulnerable to secondhand smoke because their lungs are still developing; exposure leads to decreased lung function.
These children are more prone to:
- Respiratory symptoms and acute lower respiratory tract infections. In children 18 months old and younger, secondhand smoke causes up to 300,000 cases of pneumonia and bronchitis each year, the CDC says. Secondhand smoke can cause asthma in children with healthy lungs, and it can worsen asthma for children who already have it. Read more of the effects.
I am so paranoid about the effects of smoke on my son that I won’t even let people in our house if they smoke, let alone hold him. I know that may sound a little mean, but even the smoke residue on their clothing could possibly effect him.
You might consider getting an air purifier or filtration system. A friend of mine has cats and she is afraid her baby might be allergic. Everyone in the family is feeling better and breathing easier with the new air system.