If you smoke in the presence of your children, it is as if they are also smoking.
Second-hand smoke causes health problems for all members of a family, but it is particularly harmful for young children. Their lungs, which are not completely developed, are more vulnerable. Also, babies and children generally breathe more rapidly than adults do, therefore inhaling more of the dangerous chemical substances.
What Are the Risks?
Before Birth
- Second-hand smoke threatens the health of a baby even before its birth. The nicotine in the second-hand smoke the future mother is exposed to can breach the placenta and affect the fetus, even in a few seconds. The result: blood flow to the baby can drop, which can affect the heart, lungs, nervous system and digestive system.
- The second-hand smoke inhaled by a pregnant woman can stunt the development of the baby, which can lead to low birth weight.
Children
- Babies exposed to cigarette smoke are more at risk of sudden infant death syndrome.
- Regular exposure to second-hand smoke increases the risk of respiratory problems such as asthma, bronchitis and bronchiolitis among children.
- For babies and children, second-hand smoke increases the risk of ear infections, tonsillitis and food allergies.
- For children with asthma, breathing second-hand smoke can provoke asthma attacks and increase the frequency and severity of these attacks. This illness is one of the leading causes of school absences, emergency visits and hospitalization.
- Second-hand smoke can negatively affect behaviour and learning in children. For example, children who were exposed to tobacco smoke have been shown to score lower on tests than children who were not.
Youth
- Second-hand smoke is harmful to children of all ages, even older children. For example, being exposed to second-hand smoke while growing up can increase their risks of developing cancer and heart disease as adults.
Second-hand smoke goes everywhere: it can even get to children who are sleeping behind closed doors. The best way to protect your family and friends from the harmful effects of tobacco smoke is to live in a smoke-free home and drive in a smoke-free car.
When Adults Take a Stand
As a parent, you can help your children never to smoke.
Are you a parent? It has been proven: banning cigarette, cigar and pipe smoke from the house and car can reduce the chances of your children taking up smoking…even if you are a smoker. Other ways to encourage your children not to become smokers include taking a stand against smoking, whether you smoke or not; openly discussing with your children the harmful effects of smoking and how difficult it is to free oneself from it and, ideally, if you do have this habit, quitting smoking yourself in order to become a non-smoking model.
