Children and Secondhand Smoke
What's the problem?
Almost half of all children in the UK are exposed to tobacco smoke at home. If people smoke when their children are around, the child can inhale the equivalent of 150 cigarettes a year! That is why 50 children are admitted to hospital every day in the UK as a result of illness caused by breathing the smoke. That is just the tip of the iceberg, as many children would have illnesses but not need hospital treatment.
Babies and toddlers suffer from the effects of secondhand smoke much more than adults as they;
- cannot escape the indoor smoke as they need to stay near their parents.
- are unable to say that the smoke bothers them.
- have small, developing, fragile lungs and so are more susceptible to damage from smoke (you may notice they have more coughs and wheeze?).
- have small inner ear channels, increasing their chances of smoking-related ‘glue ear' infection.
Children are 3 times more likely to take up smoking if their parents smoke at home.
So what's the solution?
The easiest step you can take towards addressing these problems is to making your home smokefree. Just ask the smokers to pop outside when they want a cigarette.
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What will a smokefree home mean to my children?
Children are less likely to be absent from school with colds and coughs.
They will be less likely to develop behavioural problems and learning difficulties if they live in a smokefree home.
- Babies will have a reduced risk of cot death
- They will have greater lung capacity
- They'll no longer smell of tobacco.
- Your children will enjoy their environment much more
- Your children are far less likely to start smoking themselves