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SECONDHAND SMOKE SMOKES YOUR HOME AND FAMILY
Making your home smoke-free is one of the most important things you can do to protect
yourself and those living with you from secondhand smoke exposure. Nonsmokers can develop
serious health problems when they are exposed to secondhand smoke at home. Think about it:
most people spend more time at home than anywhere else.
Why is smoking at home bad for my family?
- Children who are exposed to secondhand smoke are more likely to develop ear infections and
chronic respiratory illnesses.
- Secondhand smoke causes sore throats, croup, asthma, bronchitis, middle ear infections,
and reduced lung function.4
- Nonsmoking women who live with a spouse who smokes have a 20 percent greater risk of developing
lung cancer. 17
It is important to remember that opening a window, smoking in another room, or having air purifiers
and ventilation systems won’t protect your family from secondhand smoke.
Smoke can creep underneath closed doors and locked windows and
invade other areas of your home. Even after a cigarette, cigar, or pipe
has been put out, highly toxic secondhand smoke remains in the
environment (clothes, carpets, drapes, air) and circulates all over the
house.
Another thing to remember is that secondhand smoke is more concentrated and has higher levels of
toxins when it exists in small spaces such as
a single room or car. Protect the people living with you from these toxins by smoking outside.
How to protect my family
- Don’t smoke in your house or permit others to do so.
- Don’t allow babysitters or others who work in your home to smoke in your house or near your children.
A smoke-free home protects your family, your guests, and even your pets.
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SECONDHAND SMOKE SMOKES CHILDREN
We all want our children to have the best opportunity to grow up healthy. It’s important to realize
that when you smoke a cigarette or take your children to a smoke-filled
environment, their health is at risk.
Learn the risks and protect your children.
While secondhand smoke is dangerous for nonsmoking healthy
adults, it is even more hazardous for babies and children who have small
airways and lungs that still are developing. Infants and young children
of parents who smoke are more likely to have lower respiratory tract
infections, such as pneumonia and bronchitis. Secondhand smoke is
responsible for between 150,000 to 300,000 lower respiratory tract
infections in children younger than 18 months of age, which result in
between 7,500 to 15,000 hospitalizations each year. Children also
are more susceptible to symptoms of respiratory irritation like
coughing, excess phlegm, and wheezing.
Secondhand smoke can cause children with asthma or allergies to
have longer and more severe attacks.1
Exposure to secondhand smoke is associated with an increased risk for
sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).5
How can I protect my children?
- Make your home and vehicle smoke-free.
- Don’t let anyone, including a babysitter, smoke in your house.
- Find out about the smoking policies of your daycare provider, preschool, schools, and
caregivers for your children.
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SECONDHAND SMOKE SMOKES WOMEN
Secondhand smoke is hazardous to everyone’s health, smokers, nonsmokers, and especially women and babies.
For women, the risks are huge
- Nonsmoking women who live with a spouse who smokes have a 20 percent greater risk of developing
lung cancer.17
Does secondhand smoke affect unborn babies?
It is important for pregnant women to avoid smoke-filled restaurants and other public venues.
Secondhand smoke affects the unborn children
of mothers who are exposed to high levels of secondhand smoke.
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SECONDHAND SMOKE SMOKES PETS
Our furry friends are less immune to the dangers of secondhand smoke than we think. Think about
it, indoor animals, like small children, don't have a choice when it comes to breathing in cigarette
or cigar smoke.
Cats
Secondhand smoke, not curiosity, kills cats. Lymphoma
– the most common type of cancer in cats –
now is linked to secondhand smoke. Cats that live with people who smoke are more than twice as
likely as other cats to develop feline lymphoma. The risk increases with long exposure. Cats subjected
to at least five years of secondhand smoke are three times more at risk for lymphoma than other cats.
Also, two or more smokers in a house make a cat four times more likely to develop lymphoma.
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