Second Hand Smoke and Children

Okay, I’ve said what I can to those who are able to make their own decisions. Since small children and babies can’t do the same, let’s concentrate now on what passive or second hand smoke does to little ones.

Children are especially susceptible: their tiny lungs are still developing and childhood exposure to secondhand smoke results in decreased lung function. Children who breathe secondhand smoke are more likely to develop asthma, the leading serious chronic childhood disease in the US.

More Numbers for the Curious: In a late 90s government study, it was found that 9-12 million American children under age 5 were exposed to secondhand smoke in the home and 43 percent of American children aged 2 months to 11 years live in a home with at least one smoker.

Exposure to secondhand smoke increases the severity and frequency of asthma episodes; 200,000 to 1,000,000 asthmatic children with asthma have experienced aggravated symptoms.

From 1982 to 1995 the prevalence of pediatric asthma has increased by 86.8 percent. Asthma accounts for approximately 17 percent of all pediatric emergency visits in the US.

Exposure to secondhand smoke causes 150,000 to 300,000 lower respiratory tract infections (pneumonia and bronchitis) annually in children 18 months and younger; these infections result in 7,500 to 15,000 hospitalizations each year.

Secondhand smoke exposure causes buildup of fluid in the middle ear, resulting in 700,000 to 1.6 million physician office visits. Middle ear infections are the most common cause of childhood operations and of childhood hearing loss.

A California EPA study estimated 1,900 to 2,700 sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) deaths annually were associated with secondhand smoke exposure

Sources: http://www.lungusa.org, www.cdc.gov , www.drugabuse.gov , www.cancer.gov www.smokefree.gov, www.srnt.org, www.quitnet.org

A Personal Story – Montel Williams and Sudden Infant Deaths

US Surgeon Generals have repeatedly reported that exposure to secondhand smoke increases the risk for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Other government health agencies and country wide universities support these findings. Still, we hear no outcry of indignation or anger. Montel Williams, a highly intelligent and compassionate television personality, recently featured parents on his show who had lost their toddlers, each over 12 months old, due to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

These parents are understandably making it their mission to find out why this is happening to toddlers since earlier medical information said that babies under 12 months old were those most prone to this mysterious death. These heartbroken parents wanted to know how it happened and why it happened.

As I watched, I had to wonder: Among the usual roster of “experts” on the show, some were conspicuous by their absent. Where were the experts, including our government’s experts, who have investigated and reported on the connection between environmental smoke and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome? The Surgeon Generals of our country are not exactly invisible. The connection between tobacco smoke and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome is in fact, as google.com attests, the worst kept secret in America.

I wondered how Mr. Williams’ staff researchers could have missed this information. I wondered why, in view of the heavy smoking in our country, this bit of information is not scaring the hell out of parents and grandparents? And most of all, why it is not being made a more public debate?

Just Curious.

Did You Know?

Eleven percent (11%) of children aged 6 years and under is exposed to Environmental or Second Hand Smoke in their homes on a regular basis (4 or more days per week).