World No Tobacco Day: How Second-Hand Smoke Can Harm Your Family and What You Can Do About It

If you are a smoker, you may not realize how your habit can affect the health of your loved ones. Second-hand smoke, also known as environmental tobacco smoke, is the smoke that comes from the burning end of a cigarette, pipe or cigar, as well as the smoke that smokers exhale. It contains thousands of chemicals, many of which are harmful and can cause cancer.

Second-hand smoke can harm anyone who breathes it in, but it is especially dangerous for children. They are more vulnerable to the effects of second-hand smoke because their lungs and immune systems are still developing. They also breathe faster and take in more air than adults.

Second-hand smoke can harm children at any stage of life – from before they are born to adulthood. He explains some of the ways that second-hand smoke can affect children:

• It can reduce the birth weight of babies and increase the risk of birth defects such as cleft lip and palate.
• It can cause placental problems that can lead to miscarriage or premature delivery.
• It can increase the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), which is the unexplained death of a baby during sleep.
• It can impair the child's brain development and learning abilities and increase the likelihood of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and conduct disorder.
• It can irritate the ears and cause ear infections and hearing problems.
• It can trigger or worsen asthma attacks and other respiratory problems such as pneumonia, bronchitis and wheezing.
• It can increase the risk of heart disease and lung cancer later in life.
• It can make the child more likely to start smoking themselves.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared that there is no safe level of exposure to second-hand smoke. Even smoking in a different room, using fans or opening windows does not prevent second-hand smoke from spreading throughout the house. The best way to protect your family from second-hand smoke is to quit smoking or to smoke outside away from them.

Smokers should seek help from deaddiction specialists or use nicotine replacement products if they find it hard to quit. We urge smokers to respect the rights of non-smokers and avoid smoking in public places such as parks and buildings where children may be present.

"We need to protect our little kids from the hazardous effect of second-hand smoke since effects are long lasting, extremely dangerous and spanning across the entire life span."

On World No Tobacco Day, which is observed on May 31 every year, let us pledge to make our homes and surroundings smoke-free for the sake of our children's health and well-being.