How Smoking Affects Your Children
Smoking and Infant Health Problems
Parents who smoke cause many health problems for their children. Some of the problems they cause are making asthma worse, bringing on more colds and ear infections, and increasing the risk for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
Secondhand, Thirdhand Smoke, and Kids
Breathing secondhand smoke is almost like your child smokes herself. Secondhand smoke is the smoke a smoker breathes out and that comes from the tip of burning cigarettes, pipes, and cigars. It contains about 4,000 chemicals. Many of these chemicals are dangerous; more than 50 are known to cause cancer. Any time children breathe in secondhand smoke they are exposed to these chemicals.
Tobacco smoke gets into the air and its residue stays on walls, floors, furniture, toys, and clothes. This smoke that adults carry around with them on their clothes is called thirdhand smoke. So, even parents who smoke outside do not fully protect their children from the harmful effects of tobacco smoke.
Smoking and Pregnancy
Research has shown that smoking during pregnancy causes health problems for both mothers and babies, such as:
- Miscarriage
- Premature (early) birth
- Low birth weight
