The harmful consequences of a bad habit
It is no secret that smoking is bad for your health. It causes multiple health issues and also takes its toll on your appearance. It is expensive and a gross habit to have. Once addicted a lot of people find it extremely difficult to break the habit. What most people fail to realize, though, is that by subjecting their children to their second hand smoke they are putting their children at risk for those same health issues and increasing their risk for many illnesses. This is why I fully support enforcing a ban making it illegal to smoke in cars with children. Forcing your child to sit in an enclosed area, such as a vehicle, and breathe in all the smoke and harmful chemicals is horrible and very harmful to their health.
Secondhand smoke comes from the smoke burning from the end of a cigarette, along with the smoke exhaled by the person smoking. It contains more than 7,000 chemicals. Hundreds of those chemicals are harmful and 70 of them can cause cancer. There is no safe level of secondhand smoke. In infants and children it increases risk of asthma attacks, respiratory infections, ear infections and SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome). In adults, it causes heart disease and multiple types of cancer. Even non-smokers that are exposed to and breathe in secondhand smoke have a 20-30% increased risk of heart disease and lung cancer. It causes 3,400 deaths from lung cancer in non-smokers every year. (CDC) Approximately 26% of adults smoke cigarettes and 50-60% of children live in a home with at least one person that smokes. Subjecting children to smoke decreases lung development and function and can cause long lasting damage even if they never smoke themselves. It increases the risk of bronchitis and pneumonia. In 1992, the Environmental Protection Agency reported secondhand smoke causes 150,000-300,000 cases of lower respiratory infections each year in infants and babies under 18
months old. More than 40% of children that visit the emergency room for severe asthma attacks or illnesses live with smokers. Approximately 3,000 non-smokers die of lung disease each year. (entnet.org) After reading all the horrible things smoking causes, why willingly smoke around your children knowing it can and will make them sick, and possibly kill them in the long run?
A smoking ban is already in effect in 6 states across the United States. Arkansas, Louisiana, California, Maine, Oregon and Utah banning smoking in vehicles with children, the child's age varies by state. Quite a few other states such as Hawaii, Indiana, New Jersey and New York have cities or counties that ban it as well, but not the entire state and more states are proposing the same ban.
Some people like to argue that banning smoking in cars with children is imposing on our freedom. They argue that they should be able to do what they want in their car and around their child. If that were the case why should we have to wear seat belts? Or put our babies in car seats? Why is it illegal to abuse our children? The answer is simple; it is all to protect them. Just like a smoking ban, if followed, would protect them from the dangerous effects and long lasting issues of secondhand smoke. That child does not have the option to get out of the car so that they do not have to breathe in the smoke. They are strapped in the back with no choice. Although some people will say "It is alright, I roll the windows down" studies by Harvard School of Public Health have shown that even with the window slightly open, the exposure to chemicals hit levels rated "hazardous" by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (hsph.harvard.edu)
I am a former smoker and I also still have friends that smoke. Being around them or in one of their vehicles while they are smoking (even with windows down) burns my throat and lungs breathing in their secondhand smoke. I can only imagine how it feels to a small child
whose lungs are not even fully developed yet. It does not take that much effort to just go outside. It is a matter of not wanting to be inconvenienced. Just wait until your car stops to smoke. Smoke before you leave and when you arrive. If it is a long trip, give yourself a little extra time to stop at rest areas. This allows everyone a few minutes to go to the bathroom, stretch their legs, and gives you a chance to smoke. If people would stop feeling personally attacked or feeling that their freedoms are being taken away and look at the bigger picture, their child's health and future, you will see we all have the same common goal. We all just want to protect them. So please, think twice before you light up around your child.
http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/secondhand_smoke/health_effects/ http://www.entnet.org/Healthinformation/Second-Hand-Smoke-and-Children.cfm http://www.webmd.com/smoking-cessation/effects-of-secondhand-smoke http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passive_smoking
