Smoking, passive

Exposure to smoke from someone else's cigarette, cigar or pipe is termed passive smoking. In enclosed places, such as an office, car, restaurant or home, cigarette smoke builds up enough to expose even nonsmokers to a dangerous array of chemicals, including nicotine, formaldehyde, carbon monoxide, DDT and arsenic.

There are two types of cigarette smoke: mainstream and sidestream. Mainstream smoke is inhaled by the smoke through the mouthpiece, which usually contains a filter. Nonsmokers are exposed to mainstream smoke when the smoker exhales.

Sidestream smoke is released directly into the air from the burning end of the cigarette. This unfiltered smoke is even more dangerous than mainstream smoke. Some studies have indicated that sidestream smoke contains twice as much tar and nicotine and three times as much carbon monoxide as mainstream. Most of the smoke that a nonsmoker is exposed to is the more dangerous, sidestream smoke.

HOW IS PASSIVE SMOKING HARMFUL TO CHILDREN'S HEALTH?
Secondhand smoke is listed by the U.S. Surgeon General as a known carcinogen, linked mainly to lung cancer. It also has been linked to heart disease and respiratory problems. People with asthma or allergies may suffer an acute attack when exposed to the irritants and toxins in secondhand smoke.

Passive exposure to cigarette smoke starts during pregnancy, not only if the mother smokes, but also if the husband or other adults in the household or workplace smoke. Exposure to cigarette smoke during gestation can lead to low birth weight, higher risk or respiratory problems, and other health risks to the infant.

After birth, exposure to secondhand smoke continues to harm babies. Children exposed to cigarette smoke (usually due to parental smoking) are twice as likely to suffer from fair or poor health as children who have never been exposed to cigarette smoke. Rates of bronchitis and pneumonia are higher among babies under age two whose parents smoke. Children exposed to secondhand smoke are twice as likely to develop asthma, the most common lung disease of childhood.

Children aged five through nine whose parents smoke have decreased lung function compared to children who have not been exposed to cigarette smoke. Rates of acute respiratory illness are higher among children of smokers than in those of nonsmokers.

In addition, at least one study has found that children who were exposed to cigarette smoke have a significantly increased chance of lung cancer as adults—even if they never smoke themselves. The study estimated that 1,700 cases of lung cancer each year are due to exposure to secondhand smoke in childhood. The chances of suffering the effects of passive smoking increase with the number of smokers in the house and the number of years the child is exposed. The study estimated that with 25 more "smoker years" of exposure during childhood and adolescence, the rate of lung cancer doubles.

PREVENTING EXPOSURE TO CIGARETTE SMOKE

• Ban smoking from your house.

• Do not permit babysitters or teachers to smoke around children.

• Choose nonsmoking sections in restaurants and other public places.

• Quit smoking and prevail upon your partner to quit, as well.

SMOKING AND BREAST-FEEDING
Nicotine and other smoke-related chemicals are passed through breastmilk for mothers who smoke. Infants who are exposed to sidestream smoke as well as to smoke-related chemicals in breast milk have much higher levels of cotinine (a by-product of nicotine) in their urine, which means the chemical is affecting them much the way it affects smokers. Since nicotine constricts blood vessels and has been implicated in the development of heart disease, it is clearly not good for babies. The bottom line, again, is to stop smoking.

Excerpt from THE DISNEY ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BABY & CHILD CARE, © 1995 DSH Communications, Inc. This material is based on current medical research and, to the best of the editors' knowledge and understanding, is accurate and valid. However the reader should not use information contained in this material to alter a medically prescribed regimen or as a form of self-treatment, without seeking the advice of a licensed physician.