Scary Facts About Secondhand Smoke In Children
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Scary Facts About Secondhand Smoke In Children
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Most smokers take an active role in being responsible for their habit. Most everyone, including them, are aware of the side effects of tobacco smoke exposure and try to limit or completely eliminate the risk of exposing their loved ones to any smoke. Smoking outside and away from people is taking an active role. But what happens when smokers light up right in front of loved ones? What happens when children are exposed to this smoke?
Secondhand smoke refers to the smoke that is emitting from the end of a burning cigarette plus whatever smoke is coming out of a smoker’s body. The amount of chemicals found in cigarette smoke reaches into several thousands and children who are exposed to this naturally will be affected negatively. Children are constantly growing and their lungs are still developing. Any child who inhales this smoke has decreased lung function, and medical professionals claim that as adults, these children never reach their full lung capability.
Asthma is a common culprit among these children. It is estimated that the smoke will trigger over 200,000 episodes of asthma and cause them to be more susceptible to other respiratory problems, including coughing, wheezing, breathlessness, and excessive amounts of phlegm. Other more serious problems are pneumonia and bronchitis. Medical professionals agree that there is no safe level of smoke inhaled by a child. If that child is exposed to any level of tobacco smoke, it will affect them in different levels.
A child who was born from a mother who smoked during her pregnancy have weaker lungs than those who were born from a mothers who did not smoke. It is also found that a baby from a smoking mother will typically weigh about seven ounces less than a baby from a non-smoking mother. The lungs of a child are not the only things that get affected here. Whatever symptoms adults feel, such as a changed physical appearance, will be felt by a child as well. Middle ear infections are the leading cause of childhood operations and can lead to permanent loss of hearing. In worse case scenarios, smoking around an infant can even cause them to die. An estimated 430 babies succumbed to sudden infant death syndrome.
It is crucial that any smoker ensures that all of their loved ones – other adults, children, babies, and even furry animal companions – are not exposed to and subjected to the ill effects of cigarette smoke.
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