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Second Hand Smoke Risks to Children
Get the facts, reduce the risk to your kids
Secondhand tobacco smoke is a health risk - proven to cause cancer in adults. Infants and children are particularly vulnerable to tobacco smoke because their lungs and respiratory tracts are still growing.
Children have a higher metabolism and can absorb higher amounts of smoke than adults.
More than three times as many infants die from secondhand smoke-related Sudden-Infant Death Syndrome as from child abuse or homicide.
Smoke can trigger illnesses and anxiety
Research shows that tobacco smoke can trigger colds, asthma, bronchitis, allergies and pneumonia, and breathing problems generally.
Exposure to tobacco smoke raises a child's risk of: ear infection, tubes in the ears, asthma, bronchitis and tonsillectomies.
Tobacco smoke also causes children emotional stress. They have been taught that smoking causes cancer. Now they are learning that breathing tobacco smoke in their house could make them very sick.
The poisons contained in second-hand smoke
Arsenic, benzene, lead and formaldehyde poisons are present in second-hand smoke. It also has twice as much as nicotine and tar as the smoke inhaled by smokers.
Steps you can take
Ask people to smoke outside. Reduce your child's exposure to secondhand smoke by asking family members and visitors to smoke outside. It doesn't help to smoke in another room.
Hire a nonsmoking caregiver. If your caregiver or babysitter does smoke, ask him or her not to smoke around your child.
Make your vehicle smoke-free. Reduce your family's exposure to tobacco smoke by letting passengers know that you don't allow smoking in your vehicle.
Join nonsmoking groups. Join community groups that support nonsmoking environments for children
Children & second–hand smoke
Second-hand smoke is harmful for everyone, especially babies and children. Kids deserve special protection against second-hand smoke.
Second-hand smoke comes from the burning end of a cigarette, cigar or pipe, and from the smoke that is blown into the air by the person smoking. Smoke is made up of thousands of toxic chemicals, including some that cause cancer. There is a higher concentration of harmful substances (tar, nicotine, etc.) in second-hand smoke than there is in the smoke inhaled by smokers.
According to the 2007 Canadian Tobacco Use Monitoring Survey (CTUMS), 900,000 children under the age of 12 are exposed regularly to second-hand smoke.
Why is second-hand smoke so harmful to children?
Research shows children have an especially high risk of health problems because of exposure to second-hand smoke. This is because:
- They breathe in more air relative to their body weight, which means they absorb more tobacco smoke
- Their immune systems are less developed
- They have less power and ability to complain about being around second-hand smoke
- They are less able to leave smoky places themselves
Second-hand smoke begins its harm before a baby is born
Second-hand smoke can harm your baby while it is still growing inside your belly. The chemicals from tobacco smoke can cross the placenta and enter the blood of your developing baby.
Nicotine speeds up your unborn baby's heartbeat and slows down the growth of the lungs and breathing passages. Carbon monoxide from second-hand smoke (the same poisonous gas that's in car exhaust) can reduce the oxygen supply to your unborn baby, which leads to lower birth weights. Second-hand smoke has also been linked to premature birth and miscarriage. It can also hurt the immune system of your growing baby, and make your baby more vulnerable to disease later on.
Exposure to second-hand smoke affects children after birth, too. Tobacco smoke has dangerous toxins and chemicals. Children breathe more air relative to their weight than adults do. This means they take in more of the hundreds of harmful substances, like heavy metals and oxides of nitrogen found in tobacco smoke.
Children who are regularly exposed to second-hand smoke have:
- Higher risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)
- More cough and wheeze than children of non-smokers
- More asthma than children of non-smokers
- More ear infections
- Reduced lung capacity
- Double the risk of bronchitis, croup and pneumonia
- Lower test scores in math, reading and logic
- Higher risk for heart disease
- More chances of taking up smoking themselves
What if I open a window, run a fan or air purifier, or smoke near the chimney- will that be enough to get rid of the smoke?
No. You can't get rid of smoke by sitting near a window or chimney, or turning on a fan or air purifier. You can't get rid of smoke in a car by rolling down the car window. None of those things is strong enough to get rid of the over 4000 toxic chemicals in smoke.
The toxic chemicals in smoke stick around even after the smoker has put out the cigarette, cigar, or pipe. Smoke gets trapped in hair, skin, walls, fabric, carpet, furniture, and toys. Anyone who is around those smoke-filled things can feel the effects of second-hand smoke, even if no cigarette is lit at the moment. If you are in a room or car where people usually smoke, you are still exposed to second-hand smoke. This is true even if no one is smoking while you're there.
Children do not choose to breathe the tobacco smoke made by adults. The best and safest solution is always to stop smoking. Put your child's health first:
- If you smoke - Quit. A positive health message begins with you. It's never too late to quit.
- Never smoke around pregnant women, infants, children and teenagers.
- Don't allow smoke in your child's home, daycare, or the family car.
- Keep your child away from any place where people usually smoke. The chemicals in tobacco smoke stick to clothing, carpets, toys, furniture and car seats and can stick around long after the tobacco stopped burning. It's not enough that the smoker doesn't light up when your child is there. If your child's in a room, house or car where people usually smoke, she will feel the harmful effects of second-hand smoke.
- Remember that opening a window, running a fan or air purifier, or smoking near the chimney will not get rid of second-hand smoke.
- Keep children away from homes or public and family events where people are smoking or where they usually smoke.
- Children learn from what they see around them. Smoking in front of children may increase their desire to try smoking. Most adults do not want their children to become smokers.
© 2008 Canadian Lung Association. All Rights Reserved.