Surgeon General Warning: Secondhand Smoke Puts Children At Risk
Secondhand smoke is also known as environmental tobacco smoke. It is a mixture of 2 forms of smoke that come from burning tobacco. When non-smokers are exposed to secondhand smoke it is called involuntary smoking or passive smoking. Non-smokers who breathe in secondhand smoke take in nicotine and other toxic chemicals just like smokers do. The more secondhand smoke you are exposed to, the higher the level of these harmful chemicals in your body. There are over 4000 chemical compounds in secondhand smoke; 200 of which are known to be poisonous, and at least 60 have been identified as carcinogens.
Children are particularly vulnerable to the effects of secondhand smoke because they are still developing physically, have higher breathing rates than adults, and have little control over their indoor environments. Children exposed to high doses of secondhand smoke, such as those whose mothers smoke, run the greatest relative risk of experiencing damaging health effects.
Health Effects from the secondhand smoke:
· Exposure to secondhand smoke can trigger asthma attacks and make asthma symptoms more severe.
· Exposure to secondhand smoke can cause asthma in children who have not previously exhibited symptoms.
· Exposure to secondhand smoke increases the risk for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
· Children who regularly breathe secondhand smoke are at increased risk for middle ear infections.
Get more information on "The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke: A Report of the Surgeon General" at www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/secondhandsmoke/
