Biological Effects from Exposure to Second-Hand Smoke

Secondly, there are also children effected by second hand smoke in many ways. It’s estimated that about 1 out of every 4 children

Imagine yourself sitting down to dinner at a restaurant. You are sitting down trying to enjoy your dinner when all you can smell is smoke. Not only are you just breathing in the smoke, it is also damaging your body at the same time. Or imagine yourself at your work place, whether it be a restaurant or office, and you are forced to breathe in second-hand smoke the entire time you are there. In this paper you will be informed of the harmful effects of second-hand smoke, and why smoking should be banned from all public places.

When people grow up in a smoking household, they are exposed to secondhand smoke (WHO, 2016). Secondhand smoke can also affect health outside of the home, as over 90 percent of the world’s population does not have full coverage on smoke-free public health actions. Second hand smoke exposure affects a third of the world and is most common in households, contributing to pulmonary complications and over half a million deaths yearly (WHO, 2016). Most children do not have a choice of growing up in a household that is smoke-free, especially when their parents have been smoking before they were born. The long term exposure of living in a poor quality smoking household impacts an individual’s health, without them having any other housing option.

Cigarettes not only cause illness to cigarette smokers but innocent bystanders as well. There have been numerous studies that indicate secondhand smoke can be just as harmful, if not more, that that of direct cigarette smoke. This means that when a toddler plays near his parent who is a smoker, the child is exposed to the fumes and reaps the detrimental

To begin, exposure to passive smoke as a child harms the function of the respiratory system by causing illnesses to develop in the lungs during childhood. Children who were exposed to passive smoke are highly prone to develop respiratory illnesses. For instance, asthma is one of the most common illness caused by exposure to passive smoke. Studies show that there is an increased risk of asthma in children associated with maternal passive smoke exposure by 20% to 85% (Burke et al, 2012). Through these statistics, we can quantitatively show how harmful exposure of particles from tobacco smoke is to the lungs of children and the possibility of developing asthma at childhood from passive exposure through the mother. Asthma is a respiratory condition resulting from particles in the bronchi of the lungs leading to breathing difficulty, whereby causing an inflammation of the air passages in the lungs due to particles affecting sensitivity of nerve endings (Asthma Society of Canada, 2015.) Particles such as nicotine from tobacco affect the sensitivity of the nerve ending in the airway leading to irritability resulting in buildup of mucus in airway. These particles easily pass through our passage way ,because they damage the mucus lining, so they are not easily blocked, which is why they enter into the lungs causing irritation triggering an asthma attack. While examining 133,800 to 161,600 asthma related cases, it was found that children during early childhood from two months to five

Not only does secondhand smoke harm people physically, public smoking is an extremely negative influence for child development and the development of the world as a whole. Around six thousand students in the country of Africa were included in the Global Youth Tobacco Survey to get an overall understanding to how many non-smoking adolescents (11-18 yrs) are around the harsh chemicals of SHS. The survey concluded that 34.2% of the students were exposed to SHS outside of the home. The amount of students already affected with the health consequences of cigarette smoke is wistfully significant.

Tobacco smoke contains more than 7,000 chemicals, including hundreds that are toxic and about 70 that can cause cancer (Smoking & Tobacco Use). Secondhand smoke can be especially harmful to your children's health because their lungs are still developing and introducing such toxins to their lungs can cause serious damage. This PSA, created by the National Health Service, is hoping to reach parents who are smokers and eliminate the harm caused to children by the effects of secondhand smoke. The use of pathos is exemplified in this PSA because there is an emotional message around harming children. Not only harmfulness to children is being showcased but also the harmer is identified as a caregiver to the child. Logos is displayed in the text and statistics provide to support the message. This PSA uses a mixture of pathos and logos to convey a powerful message that secondhand smoke is harmful to your child.

Children are at greater risk of being exposed to secondhand smoke than adults (CDC, 2004)

By now it is known that smoking is harmful to your body. Everyone who smokes is completely aware of this and continues to mistreat their body anyway. It takes something serious for smokers to actually take the necessary steps to quit. I chose this ad on the internet because many people who I love dearly smoke. This advertisement was made by the Child Health Foundation. It was created in Germany and published in 2007. The author is trying to achieve awareness of the dangers of secondhand smoke to try and stop parents from smoking around their children or altogether. This advertisement can also affect children or anyone who smokes, whether they are a parent or not. When children understand this advertisement, it can lead them to pressure their parents to quit smoking. This may also target anyone who smokes in general because they will most likely be around a child at one time or another. The purpose of this advertisement is to show parents, kids, or anyone who smokes in general, that breathing in secondhand smoke can be deadly for infants and children. Smokers need to be mindful of

Approximately 7,500 infants die due to sudden infant death syndrome due to exposure of secondhand smoke in America (“American Lung Association”). Children all over the United States are unwillingly exposed to parental secondhand smoke in public, in cars, and at home. When children are exposed to secondhand smoke, many develop life threatening diseases later in life as a result of that exposure. In the United States, smoking should be banned while in the presence of children. Children’s lungs are vulnerable to the effects of secondhand smoke, and this can cause serious problems down the road. Some states have already banned smoking in public and others are in the process. Secondhand smoke exposure has the possibility of causing nicotine

Approximately 20% of our youth today lives with a family member who smokes. It is estimated that almost half of the U.S. population experiences secondhand smoke every day through the environment they encounter. Many research studies support the notion that cigarette use and secondhand exposure link to health side effects. Cigarette smoke has been especially found to be detrimental to an individual’s cardiovascular and metabolic health. New findings however, show that exposure to cigarette smoke can correlate to weight gain, especially in children. In fact, exposure to secondhand smoke alone has been linked to higher weight gain than the actual habit of smoking.

Secondhand smoke is unhealthy for everyone, especially for young children. Children are more susceptible to suffer the detrimental health effects of secondhand smoke because they breathe in more air than adults due to their size and weight. In addition, children are constantly growing and developing. During their development stage, children are more sensitive to the consequences of secondhand smoke, which is ultimately dangerous to their immune and respiratory systems. Furthermore, secondhand smoke is significantly harmful to children with asthma, which is a chronic health condition whose symptoms include coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath. Children, both with and without asthma, are powerless to protect themselves from the dangers of secondhand smoke, so we the adults have to protect them.

Growing up in an era where smoking was considered cool amongst the young, I never gave much thought to the long-term effect cigarette smoking would have on the lungs. Recently the issue of COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) has become a very serious health issue, the American Cancer Society has produced commercials advising against smoking. However, it’s not only smokers who suffer with breathing difficulties, but also those who are near them. One of the highest cause of emphysema is second hand smoke, much of the people affected are those who worked or lived with smokers. According to the Surgeon General between 1964 and 2014, 2.5 million people died from second hand smoke. Chemicals such as formaldehyde, benzene, vinyl chloride, arsenic ammonia and hydrogen cyanide are but a few of the toxic chemicals contained in second hand smoke. These chemicals have caused individuals to develop asthma, COPD and lung cancer.

This paper will discuss the effects of Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS) or known as Second Hand Smoke (SHM) among children. In addition, it will focuses on the how ETS becomes a problem for Children in American household as well as in other well developed nations. It will describe the effects that has among children living in contaminated environment by Second Hand Smoke. One of the health effects can be Asthma, which is provoked by their parents who smoke in their vicinity. Furthermore, there will be a discussion where as a public health practitioner trying to improve the health of these children and to educate their parents to lessen their cigarette consumption near children.

Secondhand smoking causes many defects for children as they grow up. As parents of young children smoke in the car, these children are exposed to this secondhand smoke frequently. According to Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), "Secondhand smoke causes numerous health problems in infants and children, including more frequent and severe asthma attacks, respiratory infections, ear infection, and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)." As these children group up, the health problems resulting from the secondhand smoke exposure affects their lifestyle and future.