Reasons for making your home smoke-free:
Second-hand smoke is a combination of smoke exhaled by the smoker as well as smoke trailing from a burning tobacco product such as cigarette, cigar, cigarillo, or pipe.
Second-hand smoke contains more than 4,000 chemicals, 50 of which are known to cause cancer.
The risks include:
- Exposure to second-hand smoke is the second-highest cause of lung cancer (smoking is the first).
- Living with a partner who smokes raises your risk of heart disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
- 30 minutes of exposure to smoke hardens the arteries (arteriosclerosis). Longer exposure raises the risk of heart disease.
- Research has shown a link between second-hand smoke and stroke, breast cancer, cervical cancer, worsening of cystic fibrosis, and miscarriage.
Second-hand Tobacco Smoke and Children
Second-hand smoke affects children more than adults because their bodies (their respiratory and immune systems in particular) are still developing. A child's lungs are also smaller than an adults so they take 3 times as many breaths per minute (compared to an adult), therefore inhaling more of the smoke than an adult.
Serious effects of second-hand smoke on children and youth can include:
• increased risk of lung and chest infections, such as bronchitis and pneumonia
• Ear infections
• Asthma, and worsening of asthma not caused by second-hand smoke
• low birth weight
Ways to tackle the issue:
Here are 16 strategies that may help reduce children’s and pregnant women’s exposure to second-hand smoke:
1 Smoke outside
2 Ask visitors to smoke outside
3 Politely ask people not to smoke around children
and pregnant women
4 If necessary, leave
5 If you need to smoke outside, ask someone to cover childcare
6 Schedule visits when it is easier to smoke outdoors
7 Mothers who smoke should breastfeed before they smoke
8 Clearly identify your home as smoke-free
9 Meet in outdoor or non-smoking locations
10 Provide comfortable settings to smoke outdoors
11 Help people understand the impact of smoke on children’s health
12 Smoke far away from the home
13 Recognize the efforts made by people who smoke
14 Be a role model and do not smoke
15 If necessary, build slowly towards a smoke-free home
16 Discuss smoking openly
For this and more information, visit: www.beststart.org
For more on smoke-free homes, visit: http://www.smokefreehousingon.ca/sfho/