Written by Editorial Team
We all know that smoking is injurious to health. We have all heard of the harmful effects of smoking on pregnant woman and their unborn baby. However, do we realize how dangerous smoking is to the baby once it is born? That is right, even if small babies do not smoke, they are hugely impacted if people around them (especially family and friends who stay or visit their homes often) smoke. So how dangerous is passive smoking for your baby?
Passive smoking can be from many sources, be it a cigarette, cigar, or even shisha. Passive smoking, also known as second-hand smoking, is responsible for many health issues in babies such as asthma, respiratory infections, ear infections, etc. To put it simply, babies are at a higher risk of getting sick from passive smoking. Let us understand why and what we can do to protect our little ones from passive smoking.
In This Article
Passive smoking refers to someone breathing in the smoke from another person’s cigarettes. Such smoke, coming from someone else, is also called second-hand smoke. It consists of two types of smoke:
So even if you do not smoke, when you are in the vicinity of someone who smokes, you are breathing in second-hand smoke which can be dangerous, and for no fault of yours.
Thousands are known to be impacted by lungs and cardio problems because of passive smoking.
There is also another dimension to this called third-hand smoke. When someone smokes, the toxins from it settle in things all around him. These things include the smoker’s clothes, clothes of people nearby, furniture, floor and hair. Anybody coming in contact with any of these items will be exposed to the toxins from third-hand smoke.
All of us are affected by passive smoking. But to know how dangerous is passive smoking for baby read on:
So clearly, the babies are more exposed to second-hand smoke than we would like.
Here are a few ways passive smoking impacts babies that every parent must be aware of. The consequences include:
1. Higher risk of SIDS or Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Babies exposed to passive smoking have a higher risk of premature death.
2. Increased risk of vascular problems: Exposure to second-hand smoke can result in thickening and inflammation of babies’ airways, causing a number of breathing-related problems, such as:
3. The problems are not limited to the physical body alone. Babies exposed to secondary smoke are also known to have behavioral problems, lower IQ, and learning disabilities.
[Read : Bronchiolitis in Babies – Causes, Signs, and Treatments by Dr. Srikanta J T]
The harmful effects of passive smoking on babies, do sound scary. So how do you protect your baby?
So Finally understand how dangerous is passive smoking for your baby and the harmful effects it as on babies. So quit smoking and be a good role model to the baby.
Read Also: Breathing Problems In Children – Causes And Symptoms
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