|
Our Children and Secondhand Smoke
Children
of women who smoke are more likely to be born too early and
weigh less than they should. If their mothers keep smoking,
things can get worse. Even healthy babies under the age of
18 months can become sick if they are exposed to secondhand
smoke from mothers, fathers or other adults in the
household.
1.
Secondhand smoke is a factor in crib deaths; better
known as Sudden Infant Death Syndrome or SIDS.
2.
Children who are around smokers are more likely to
suffer from bronchitis, pneumonia, chronic coughing,
wheezing, and increased mucus.
3.
Secondhand smoke is linked to ear infections in
children because smoke contributes to the buildup of extra
fluid in the middle ear.
For
African-American children, one of the biggest health risks
of secondhand smoke is asthma. A child having an asthma
attack has trouble breathing. A bad asthma attack can be
life-threatening. Cases of childhood asthma have more than
tripled since 1970. That makes asthma the most common
chronic disease of childhood. According to the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA), up to a million children are
hospitalized each year with asthma attacks. The American
Lung Association reports that a African American child is
four times more likely to die from an asthma attack than a
White child.
Secondhand smoke can bring on an asthma attack. It may even
cause new cases of asthma to develop in children. A 2002
report by researches at the US Center for Disease Control
and Prevention found that children with high exposure to
secondhand smoke had more serious cases of asthma and
worsened lung function.
Kathryn
Grayson
Tobacco
Prevention Consultant &
Certified Tobacco Treatment Specialist
|
