Second-hand smoke is commonly referred to as passive smoke.
Regular passive smoking can increase your risk of:
Second-hand smoke and children
Children are even more at risk because of their smaller lungs and the fact that their bodies are still developing.
Second-hand smoke can affect babies before they’re even born – toxins from the smoke can get into the mother’s bloodstream during pregnancy and reach the baby that way.
Exposing a child to second-hand smoke before or after birth makes a baby:
- twice as likely to suffer from colic
- more than twice as likely to get meningitis
- three times more likely to die from cot death
Older children exposed to second-hand smoke may suffer from:
- delayed mental development
- asthma
- bronchitis
- pneumonia
- middle ear infections (glue ear)
After looking at all the research, the latest report prepared for the Government concluded that NO infant, child or adult should be exposed to second-hand smoke.
Source: www.spacetobreathe.org.uk
Second-hand smoke in cars
- Research has shown that children travelling in cars where adults are smoking are breathing in air containing 100 times the safe level of pollution.
- These children are still at risk from harmful levels of pollution even if windows are open or air conditioning is used.
