Why You Should Stop Smoking For The Sake Of Your Family

Only few of the people who smoke are sensitive enough to make the initiative of refraining from cigarette smoking while in public places. But worse than that, parents and whoever is smoking inside the house don't care regarding the risks they pose to other innocent lives inside the household. Young children, for instance, are particularly vulnerable to smoke, making them at high risk for cough, chest and ear infections.

Passive cigarette smoking, or second-hand smoke as it is sometimes called, is when you inhale air that has been polluted by other people's smoke. If the surrounding space is poorly ventilated, hazardous chemicals included in the smoke could stay in the room for a number of hours. If the smoke is thick and the room has ventilation, they can also possibly spread to the next rooms.

As far as cancer-producing tar in cigarette is concerned, the concentration of tar is significantly higher from the flaming end of a cigarette (sidestream smoke) than that of the non-flaming end which is inhaled directly by the cigarette user (mainstream smoke). One can only think about the amount of tar absorbed by the kid from a smoker puffing cigarette right in front of him. A nonsmoker who spends approximately 4 hours in a smoky room is equivalent to him smoking one cigarette.

Nonsmokers can additionally absorb a substantial amount of addictive ingredients from cigarette smoke - the nicotine. The volume of nicotine absorbed by the child is equal to the child himself puffing approximately 30 cigarettes a year if his dad smokes, and 50 cigarettes a year if it is the mom who smokes. If both mother and father smoke cigarettes, the little one can assimilate nicotine equal to 80 cigarettes a year.

Nonsmoking kids whose parents smoke in the home are involuntarily exposed to the toxic ingredients of cigarette. The effect of these chemicals is worst at ages 1 to 5 years old when they still spend most of their time with their parents. Coughing, sneezing and chest tightness are typical issues of kids exposed to passive cigarette smoking. Coughing and sneezing result once the child inhales the smoke, and the airway recognizes it as foreign irritant. The human body's defense is so efficient that it is equipped with natural reflexes such as coughing and sneezing, as an attempt to expel harmful chemical substances like smoke. Chest tightness, on the other hand, is due to those airborne chemical compounds from smoke which trigger airway muscles to tighten, making it tough for the baby to breathe.

Passive smoking can also worsen some of the common childhood diseases such as bronchiolitis, pneumonia, laryngitis, flu, pharyngitis, sinus infection, ear infections, middle ear blockage and fluid accumulation, colds, and eye irritation. Inhalation of passive smoke is additionally strongly implicated as a risk factor for sudden infant death symdrome (SIDS). Similiarly, due to its irritant effect to the airway, passive smoke is a powerful trigger of acute asthma attack in children. Repeated exposure, thus, can prospect to severe and hard to manage asthma attacks.

In adults, the most alarming effect of passive cigarette smoking is the actuality that it can result in lung cancer. A study by Ayesha Bryant, et.el, confirmed that the occurrence of Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is not unusual among nonsmokers. Patients with NSCLC are more possible to be young, female and symptomatic of the illness. Moreover, nonsmoking females have a 50% increase in their risk for lung cancer if their partners smoke cigarettes.

The damage resulting from passive cigarette smoking should not be underestimated. Necessary actions ought to be performed to prevent this. Declaring your residence a smoke-free place would be a great start. If household members smoke a cigarette, they should do it outside the home. If at a restaurant, be sure to sit in a no-smoking area. And if staying in a hotel, always ask for a non-smoking room. Last but not the least; do not be hesitant to courteously ask individuals close to your little one at a social gathering to stop smoking. Asking people to stop smoking in a public place is never too much to ask simply because health is at stake here.


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