Secondhand Smoke Is Unhealthy For Everyone, Especially For Young Children

Children’s immune systems are weaker which makes them easy targets of the second hand smoke. Also, it can decrease a child’s lung efficiency and impair the lung functions. Second hand smoke has also been known to cause children to have severe asthma as well.

Secondhand smoke is a volatile air pollutant that poses health risks for anyone nearby. It places children at risk for developing issues like asthma, ear and respiratory infections, and even cancer, while increasing the more obvious risks of cancer, heart disease, and stroke for the smoker.

According to 2006 United States' Surgeon General report, secondhand smoke is a cause for premature death and disease in children and non-smokers. In addition, children exposed to secondhand smoke are at an increased risk for sudden infant death syndrome, ear problems, acute respiratory infections, and severe asthma. Smoking by parents causes respiratory symptoms and slows lung growth in their children and to adults the secondhand smoke has immediate adverse effects on the cardiovascular system and causes coronary heart disease and lung cancer. Finally, the Surgeon General report states, “the scientific evidence indicates that there is no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke (US Department of Health and Human Services, 2006).“Third hand smoke is the name given to the toxic particles from cigarette smoke that settle onto surfaces in your home and remain long after smoking has ceased” (Heidtman, 2010), which means that even if a person smokes in the house when there is no one present the particles that state on the surfaces will still harm the health of the family that resides in the house. According to the Smoking-Related Fires in Residential Buildings (2008-2010) by the US Fire Administration,

It is now known that secondhand smoke (SHS) is more toxic than firsthand smoke (FHS), posing a serious health risk to children who have no control over whether they are exposed or not. Additionally, a new potential health risk has been discovered: thirdhand exposure (THE). Thirdhand exposure occurs when nicotine and other chemicals from secondhand smoke deposit on surfaces, such as floors, walls, and tables. THE exists wherever nicotine has been smoked, creating multiple exposure routes and exposing people via. touch, ingestion, and inhalation2. Evidence has emerged showing that THE potentially poses similar health risks as SHS, but the public is skeptical about these

A recent research from Bo Hang, a scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), shows that one compound from this ‘third-hand smoke’ damages DNA and could potentially cause cancer. And the enormous potential health risk is for babies and toddlers who swallow or inhale these compounds with vulnerability. The results of this research concluded that the best way to get rid of third-hand smoke is remove affected

The most harm in secondhand smoke is done to kids in their developmental years. As you would expect, a kid's bronchial tubes are littler and their are still growing, making them more helpless to the hurtful chemicals of passive smoking. Since their tubes are littler, kids inhale faster than grown-ups and, they really take in a greater amount of the destructive chemicals in the smoke. Few people who smoke would keep on doing it even when they knew the potential damage that they were doing to their kids. Kids invest a great deal of energy at home and maternal smoking is one of the real downfalls of detached smoking. as a result, the child suffers.

Apart from the child health care system itself, parents hold the key to all of the child's. Some parents may not know exactly how to care for their child in the most healthy way due to the fact that the parent has: bad habit, drug issues, and in some way abusive.

What is secondhand smoke? Secondhand smoke is a mixture of the smoke from an actively burning cigarette and can also be the smoke exhaled from a smoker. There are two different types of secondhand smoke: Side stream smoke which comes directly from burning tobacco and also Mainstream smoke which is the smoke that the person smoking inhales. Although the smoke that the smoker inhales is very dangerous and harmful to the body, the smoke off of a burning cigarette actually contains more harmful substances due to the smoke not being filtered when coming off of the end of the cigarette. The people being harmed the most by secondhand smoke happens to be children. Children have no choice but to endure the secondhand smoke coming off of their

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

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.

Your actions and decisions today can harm your child’s well being later to come. Young children are being affected around the world more and more every day. Second-hand smoke causes major problems in these children. Exposure to second-hand smoke affects 4 out of 10 children around the world. Secondhand smoke puts children at risk for heart disease, breathing difficulties, and possible cavities. Children that are exposed to secondhand smoke have a higher chance to become sick and have these symptoms:

Secondhand smoke exposure has negative health consequences. One health consequence is that secondhand smoke exposure can lead to disease and premature death. Another health consequence of secondhand smoke exposure causes illness in women, infants, and children such as “low-birth weight, premature labor, SIDS, asthma, respiratory illness, physical and behavioral problems” (Corbin, Welk, Corbin & Welk, 2016). Furthermore, secondhand smoke exposure also negatively impacts one’s mental health by fostering addictive and depressive behaviors. Therefore, reducing or eliminating one’s exposure to secondhand exposure can increase one’s overall health and life expectancy.

Secondhand smoke has serious negative health consequences. Secondhand smoke causes numerous health problems in infants and children including more frequent and severe asthma attacks, respiratory infections, ear infections, and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

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.

Children with asthma around secondhand smoke have more severe and frequent asthma attacks, which can put a child’s life in danger.