Second-Hand Smoke: Protecting Kids at Home

If someone smokes indoors, everyone in the house breathes it. Children are affected most, because their lungs and immune systems are still growing. This is also one of the easiest health risks for a family to remove completely.

What is second-hand smoke?

Second-hand smoke is the smoke that comes off a burning cigarette, cigar, pipe or shisha, plus the smoke a smoker breathes out. CDC reports that tobacco smoke contains more than 7,000 chemicals, hundreds of them toxic, and about 70 that can cause cancer. Most people who are exposed breathe it in at home or at work.

How much harm does it actually do?

WHO reports that second-hand smoke causes more than 1.6 million early deaths every year. Both WHO and CDC state that there is no safe level of exposure, and CDC adds that even brief exposure can cause serious health problems.

In adults who do not smoke, CDC says breathing other people's smoke raises the risk of coronary heart disease by 25 to 30%, stroke by 20 to 30% and lung cancer by 20 to 30%. Pregnant women exposed to second-hand smoke are more likely to have a baby with a low birth weight.

What does it do to children?

According to CDC, children who breathe second-hand smoke have:

• A higher risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) in babies
• More chest infections, including pneumonia and bronchitis
• More middle ear disease and ear infections, and more need for ear tube operations
• More frequent and more severe asthma attacks
• More wheezing, coughing and shortness of breath, and slower lung growth

The NHS adds meningitis and persistent coughs and colds to the list of risks for children, and explains that children are especially vulnerable because their lungs and immune systems are still developing.

Does opening a window or smoking in another room help?

Not enough to protect anyone. The NHS says smoke can hang in the air for hours after a cigarette is finished, even with a window open, and that moving to another room does not work because the smoke spreads through the home. CDC is direct about it: completely removing smoking is the only way to fully protect people who do not smoke.

How do I protect my children at home?

• Make the whole home smoke-free. No smoking in any room, at any time, by anyone.
• Ask smokers to smoke outside, including guests and relatives. The NHS advises exactly this.
• Never smoke in a car with a child inside. The NHS says opening the car window does not protect them, because smoke still reaches harmful levels in such a small space.
• Keep smoking away from doorways and open windows so the smoke does not drift straight back in.
• Agree the rule with the whole household in advance, so nobody has to argue about it in the moment.
• If you live in a flat, remember that CDC notes smoke can drift in from other units through hallways, stairwells and ventilation.

What is the best protection of all?

Quitting. The NHS says the best way to protect the people around you is to stop smoking completely, because that also removes the risk to the smoker, which no house rule can do. Ask a doctor or pharmacist what quit support is available near you.

When to see a doctor

Take your child to a doctor if they have:

• A cough that keeps coming back or is not clearing up
• Wheezing, or getting breathless during normal play
• Repeated ear infections, or ear pain
• Repeated chest infections
• Asthma attacks that are becoming more frequent or more severe

Tell the doctor honestly if anyone smokes in the home. It changes what they look for and what they advise. If a child is struggling to breathe, do not wait: call Rescue 1122 where available, or go to the nearest hospital emergency department.