Everyone understands that smoking is dangerous, particularly for youngsters. But what are the possible effects of secondhand smoke on children, particularly the infant and secondhand smoke? Let’s study 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 business of smoking. This method of involuntary exposure affects everyone who is in near a smoker, and thus of course children. The effect can be seen during pregnancy, even before a child is born. Studies have shown that prenatal exposure to nicotine, as it is contained in cigarette smoke, will lead to 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 develop asthma will find their attacks to be more severe 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 regularly succumb to 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 sampling of the effects of secondhand smoke on children.

Nevertheless, the most grevious damage done by tobacco smoke to children is the harm inflicted on their lungs. An infant and secondhand smoke are an abusive combination. Infants who were exposed to nicotine prior to birth, quite often have reduced lung functions, which is the reason they are more susceptible to succumbing to SIDS after birth. One of the reasons why children are so harmfully affected by secondhand smoke is because their breathing rate is more rapid than an adult’s breathing rate, and thus, by weight, they are receiving a heavier proportion of secondhand smoke and all its toxins than an adult would. Add to this point the developmental immaturity of a child’s lungs and it is clear that so many hospitalizations can be directly traced to a parent’s smoking around the children.

Another issue 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 choose not to limit smoking to the porch or any other location separate from the children. So, a child is usually not only exposed to a parent’s or caregiver’s secondhand smoke, but also to that of their friends, family, and other adults. Unfortunately, children who are exposed regularly to secondhand smoke will be prone to developing lung cancer, not unlike their smoking parents and caregivers. Potentially the worst thing about smoking related hospitalizations in children who were exposed to secondhand smoke is the fact that this could have been summarily avoided, particularly 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 spend time in environments that are smoke-free. Put the respiratory health of your kids in front of the risks involved with smoke exposure. Monitor your child’s opportunities for secondhand smoke exposure, and quit smoking before it is too late!