What about second-hand smoke?

Poisoning Our Children: The Dangers of Second-hand Smoke

Each year, smoking around children is responsible for:

bullet15,000 children hospitalized
bullet26,000 new cases of asthma
bullet150,000 - 300,000 lung infections, such as bronchitis and pneumonia, in children less than 18 months old
bullet40% of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) due to mothers smoking during and/or after pregnancy or another person smoking in the house

A FEW OF THE DANGEROUS CHEMICALS IN TOBACCO SMOKE...

Chemical Description

  1. 4-aminobiphenyl .... Promotes liver/bladder cancer
  2. Ethyl 2-furoate........ A liver poison, considered for use as a chemical warfare agent
  3. Hydrogen Cyanide.. A poison used in gas chambers, responsible for paralyzing and killing the cilia in lung airways
  4. Arsenic.................... A poison used to kill rats
  5. Formaldehyde.......... Used to preserve dead bodies
  6. Carbon Monoxide... Replaces the oxygen in red blood cells can mimic anemia
  7. Ammonia................. An irritant and poison used to help vaporize nicotine so it can be easily inhaled
  8. Nickel...................... An organ specific carcinogen
  9. Naphythlamine........ A bladder carcinogen
  10. Toluidine................. A bladder carcinogen
  11. Benzo(a)pyrene....... A cancer promoter
  12. Acetylene................ Used for fuel in welding torches
  13. Cadmium................. Used in rechargeable batteries
  14. Benzene................... Used as an industrial solvent

AND THE LIST GOES ON... THERE ARE OVER 4,000 CHEMICALS, MORE THAN 50 OF WHICH CAUSE CANCER!

WHY CHILDREN DEVELOP...

EAR INFECTIONS

The toxic chemicals in smoke irritate the lining of the eustachian tube which leads from the back of the nose to the ear.

The irritated lining creates mucous which collects behind the eardrum. The ear may become infected and cause pain or hearing loss. Surgery and the insertion of drainage tubes are necessary in many cases.

PNEUMONIA

Children have very small airways; When an air-way is irritated by smoke, mucous is produced.

Sometimes one drop of mucous can close a child's airway and cause it to become infected.

ASTHMA

Irritants in tobacco smoke can cause the lining of the airways to swell making it difficult for a child to breathe.

Tobacco smoke or even the stale odor of past smoking in a car can trigger an asthma attack in a child.

SECOND-HAND SMOKE AND PREGNANCY

Three very dangerous carcinogens (cancer causing chemicals) were tested and found in the blood of newborn babies, even if the mother didn't smoke but was around second-hand smoke for 6 hours a day while she was carrying the baby. They are:

Acrylonitrile, Benzo(a)pyrene, and 4-aminobiphenyl

These cancer causing chemicals attach themselves to the red blood cells and have been detected in a baby's blood up to four months after delivery.

PROBLEMS AFTER BIRTH

Mothers who smoke during and after pregnancy may have children who are more likely to suffer behavioral problems such as hyperactivity.

In one study, children from similar backgrounds who had parents that smoked scored 6% lower on tests than children whose parents did not smoke.

BIRTH DEFECTS

Some studies suggest that smoking during pregnancy can cause birth defects such as cleft (split) lip or cleft palate (an opening between the nose and the roof of the mouth).

Smoking is also responsible for low birth weight babies, miscarriages, and SIDS. low birth weight babies..

Smoking around children also causes...

bulletear infections, which can delay speech development, coordination, learning in school and is the most common cause of hearing loss in children.
bulletcongestion, coughing, mucous production and allergic reactions.
bullethigher blood pressure and heart rate, causing damage and plaque build-up on the lining of blood vessels.
bulletpermanent damage to the size and composition of the lungs, increasing the likelihood for more sickness and lung diseases throughout life.

50% of children under five years old live in a home with at least one adult smoker

SECOND-HAND SMOKE IN A ROOM:

The pollution indoors from someone smoking is generally much higher than the pollution outdoors in some of the most heavily polluted areas.

The effects of one cigarette in a room can last up to two weeks and put enough particles in the air to violate the Clean Air Act.

SECONDHAND SMOKE IN A VEHICLE:

A child spending only one hour in a smoke-filled vehicle may be exposed to as much dimethyl-nitrosamine, a very potent carcinogen, as if he or she had actually smoked 17- 35 filter tip cigarettes.

Tobacco smoke or even the smell of stale smoke in a car can trigger an asthma attack in a child!

SECONDHAND SMOKE KILLS OVER 50,000 AMERICANS EACH YEAR!!

Produced by:
Benton County Health Department
Community Health
530 NW 27th Street
Corvallis, Oregon 97330
757-6835

Special thanks to the Benton County Tobacco Coalition, the Oregon Health Division, the American Academy of Otolaryngology, and the American Society of Pediatric Otolaryngology. This leaflet is published as a public service and may be freely used or copied.