Infants And Secondhand Smoke - The Effects Can Be Permanent

Everyone knows that smoking is bad, particularly for children. But what are the actual effects of secondhand smoke on children, particularly the infant and secondhand smoke? Let’s take a look at the health effects on a child who is exposed to secondhand smoke.

Secondhand smoke is the name of the smoke that is emitted by a lit cigarette mixed with the smoke that is exhaled by a smoker engaged in the process of smoking. This kind of involuntary exposure affects all those who are near a smoker, and thus of course children. The effect can be seen during pregnancy, even before a child is born.

Research has proven that prenatal exposure to nicotine, as it is contained in cigarette smoke, will result in low birth weight in an infant. Additionally, it may contribute to prenatal death and resulting miscarriage. After the infant has been born, secondhand smoke has been connected to the much-feared sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) which causes healthy infants less than one year of age to die without recognizable causation.

Children who survive their infancy and later on suffer from asthma will find their attacks to be more prolonged than those of their counterparts who live in smoke-free environments. Because of the toxins that are exhaled as well as put forth from a lit cigarette, children who are exposed to secondhand smoke quite often suffer from respiratory tract infections such as chronic bronchitis, postnasal drip, and frequent colds.

Of course, there are also other health risks, such as an increased risk of ear infections and sore throats, and these are only a smattering of the effects of secondhand smoke on children.

Unfortunately, the most aggregious damage done by tobacco smoke to children is the injury inflicted on their lungs. An infant and secondhand smoke are a hurtful combination. Infants who were exposed to nicotine prior to birth, regularly have limited lung functions, which is the reason they are more susceptible to succumbing to SIDS when still young. One of the reasons why children are so harmfully affected by secondhand smoke is the fact that their breathing rate is more rapid than an adult’s breathing rate, and thus, by weight, they are inhaling a heavier amount of secondhand smoke and all its toxins than an adult would. Add to this fact the developmental immaturity of an infant’s lungs and it is obvious that so many hospitalizations can be directly connected to a parent’s smoking around the children.

Another point to consider is the quantitative exposure of youngsters to cigarette smoke. Normally smokers have other smokers within their immediate circle of friends and acquaintances and will not ban smoking to the porch or any other location apart from the children. So, a child is often not only exposed to a parent’s or caregiver’s secondhand smoke, but also to that of their friends, family, and other adults.

Tragically, children who are exposed consistently to secondhand smoke will be prone to developing lung cancer, following in the footsteps of their smoking parents and caregivers. It may be that the worst aspect of smoking related hospitalizations in children who were exposed to secondhand smoke is the fact that this could have been summarily avoided, especially the cases that involve an infant and secondhand smoke.

Do not wait until it is too late and the effects of secondhand smoke on children are beyond repair. Make sure your kids stay in environments that are smoke-free. Put the respiratory health of your kids in front of the risks involved with smoke exposure. Limit your child’s opportunities for secondhand smoke exposure, and quit smoking before it is too late!

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