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According to Cancer Research UK, passive smokers are 20 to 30 per cent more likely to develop lung cancer than people not exposed to smoke, with several hundred deaths occurring as a direct result in the UK each year.

Second-hand smoke is harmful and hazardous to the health of the general public, and particularly dangerous to children. It increases the risk of serious respiratory problems in children, such as a greater number and severity of asthma attacks and lower respiratory infections, and increases the risk for middle ear infections. There is also the risk of  coronary heart disease in non-smoking adults.

In 2005, it was estimated that exposure to second-hand smoke killed approximately 46,000 adults non-smokers from coronary heart disease, more than 3,000 from cancer of the lung and an estimated 430 newborns from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

In the long term, passive smoking could cause lung cancer amongst healthy non-smokers. It is estimated that people who have never smoked and live with a smoker have a 25% increase in the risk of developing lung cancer compared with people who have never smoked and live with a non-smoker. 

INFANTS AND CHILDREN 

Infants and young children are more sensitive than adults to the effects of cigarette smoke. Children exposed to cigarette smoke have a greater frequency of sore and/or watery eyes, sneezing, coughing, asthma, chest tightening, wheezing, slower lung growth and decreased lung function. These children are also more likely to suffer from respiratory infections such as pneumonia, bronchitis, bronchiolitis, ear infection, tonsillitis and sinusitis.

A 28 Year Old Waitresses Tale

“I started smoking when I was in high school due to peer pressure. I started to smoke only because I wanted to be a “somebody”. I got married in 1998 and my husband did not seem to bother about my smoking habit.

“In 1999, I was pregnant with my first child and thought that it was not necessary for me to quit smoking even though I was pregnant. My daughter was born almost perfect and her birth was without complications. This further enforced my self-delusion that smoking cannot harm my family, despite what everyone else said.

However, during my second pregnancy, I still didn’t want to stop, even after doctors advised me against lighting up. The 'best' part was, I began to smoke even more due to stress.

“Then everything changed when I was seven months pregnant. My baby girl was born prematurely. She was so tiny! The doctors put her on a life support system as her lungs were not fully developed. Her heart was beating irregularly and the nurse told us to prepare for the worst.

“The nurse explained that my smoking habit had increased the risk of my baby’s premature birth, probably also harming the foetus in the womb. From that moment on, I knew that I had to quit smoking. I could not bear the thought that I could have been the primary cause of my child’s death.

“By some miracle, my second daughter survived and I am grateful to have been spared the guilt of having 'murdered' my own daughter. I took it upon myself to quit. Immediately!

According to the World Health Organization, children’s passive smoking increases their risk of developing heart disease and cancer as an adult. In some children, it may also be a contributing factor in learning and language difficulties, and behavioural problems.

If a mother smokes during pregnancy, the unborn child is exposed to the same high levels of poisons as the mother. Evidence shows that smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage, baby not growing well in the womb, low birth weight baby, stillborn, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and illness in early infancy.

Children cannot choose not to inhale nor resist this dangerous cigarette smoke from the smokers as they receive it involuntarily.

Passive smoking induces similar health damaging effects as active smoking. In fact, studies indicate that passive smoking is more harmful than active smoking. Children face higher health risks as compared to adults. They are more sensitive to smoke as their bodies are still growing and developing.  Children exposed to tobacco smoke at home develop asthma, cough, feelings of dizziness, headache, and poor concentration at double the rate. Their sleep disturbances also triple.

Opening a window in a room or in the car cannot protect your child from passive smoking. Even smoking outside your house doesn’t provide any insurance for your child. The only sensible way is to quit smoking completely. This will remove almost all dangers on your child.