I am writing this
because I got such a thrilling (JP) response on an article I posted about
smoking being child abuse. In all honesty it really took me off hand by the
amount of opposition I had from people. After I got over the general shock of
people finding this okay I felt sad that there are people in this world that
find it completely acceptable to raise children around this nasty habit. I am
going to go ahead and tell you that this information is all factual and if you
are a smoker it may offend you….. However, it shouldn’t offend you because it
is based all on facts. I am not singling anyone out. I have smokers in my
family and in my extended family and in my husbands family. I also live with
the thought that your not in the wrong unless you know better. So if you don’t
know better I hope this blog will show some sort of awareness to you. If you do
know better then quit it! I also want to say that I post this with personal
ties from the effects of smoking I have a family member who has to rely on
asthma medication to get them through the day because of being exposed to so
much secondhand & thirdhand smoke. I also had a family member pass away
from emphysema. Therefore, I am not posting this blindly.
I was taught from a young young age
that smoking is bad. In my mind it is the persons own decision that they don’t
care about themselves enough to want to do this to their own body, a slow
suicide I guess you could say. That’s why it really boils my water when someone
close to me decides to live this lifestyle. Let me also say it really didn’t so
much bother me until I became a parent. Let me throw a few random facts at you
real quick: (Yes….I’m sure you probably already know them.)
Tobacco use is one of the biggest public health threats the world has ever faced.
- There are more than one billion smokers in the world.
- Globally, use of tobacco products is increasing, although it is decreasing in high-income countries.
- Almost half of the world's children breathe air polluted by tobacco smoke.
- The epidemic is shifting to the developing world.
- More than 80% of the world's smokers live in low- and middle-income countries.
- Tobacco use kills 5.4 million people a year - an average of one person every six seconds - and accounts for one in 10 adult deaths worldwide.
- Tobacco kills up to half of all users.
- It is a risk factor for six of the eight leading causes of deaths in the world.
Sited from: The WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATIONS website
If I wanted to I
could completely write this article about how smoking sucks and that by doing
so it’s not very smart. But you know what; I don’t smoke so that’s not my
battle. I choose to live and want to have a healthy lifestyle for myself and
for everyone around me including my daughter. That’s where it gets the point
where I start getting aggravated about smoking. Its not that the person is
silly for doing it it’s for the innocent children that have to suffer because
of their selfish parents choosing to do this nasty habit. Look at the fact up
there; “Almost half of the world’s children breathe air polluted by tobacco smoke.”
That disgusts me. I am not the person that throws around the term child abuse
lightly but, what is abuse defined as? Abuse is defined by dictionary.com as, “to treat in a
harmful, injurious, or offensive way.” So by
the definition how is smoking around your kid any different???? Its harmful to
their health; and to top it off its offensive to make your child be subdued to
being in the same environment!
By it affecting a child or another person it can be classified as
secondhand smoke. Well Kim, what is secondhand smoke? Defined on smokefree.gov
this is the definition,” Secondhand smoke is the combination of smoke that comes from your
cigarette and smoke you breathe out while smoking. Breathing in any amount of
secondhand smoke is dangerous.” (http://smokefree.gov/impact-on-others) I think of secondhand smoking of the parent
whom smokes around their child or is smoking in the same vehicle as their
child. Some of the effects from secondhand smoking around children are children
with: More severe asthma attacks, Bronchitis, pneumonia, and other breathing
problems, Coughing and wheezing, Ear and lung infections, possible ADHD and
many behavioral problems, cognitive impairments, and the list goes on and on.
Another effect that is close to my heart because I have an infant is SIDS
(sudden infant death syndrome.) Did you know that an infant that is exposed to
secondhand smoke doubles the risk of having SIDS? Did you also know that a
mother whom smokes triples her child’s chances of having SIDS?
This takes me to a whole different topic. I am
sorry if you get offended by this statement that I am about to make but if you
are pregnant and your smoking its proves two things to me: A) your selfish….
Selfish in the thought that you can’t put your child’s health before your nasty
addiction B) Maybe you’re not quite ready to be a parent. In my mind, if you
are a parent, you are living everyday putting someone else’s needs above your
own. By smoking while pregnant you’re showing that you don’t quite understand
that concept.
The thirdhand
smoke is a more recent idea that directly affects children. “Thirdhand smoke consists of the tobacco
residue from cigarettes, cigars, and other tobacco products that is left behind
after smoking and builds up on surfaces and furnishings. It may seem merely
like an offensive smell, but it is also indicative of the presence of tobacco
toxins. Tobacco smoke is composed of numerous types of gasses and particulate
matter, including carcinogens and heavy metals, like arsenic, lead, and
cyanide. Sticky, highly toxic particulates, like nicotine, can cling to walls
and ceilings. Gases can be absorbed into carpets, draperies, and other
upholsteries. A 2002 study found that these toxic brews can then reemit back
into the air and recombine to form harmful compounds that remain at high levels
long after smoking has stopped occurring. The homes, hair, clothes, and cars of
smokers can have significant levels of thirdhand smoke contamination. Young
children are particularly vulnerable, because they can ingest tobacco residue
by putting their hands in their mouths after touching contaminated surfaces. (http://www.no-smoke.org/learnmore.php?id=671).”
A great video
explaining thirdhand smoke is at this link: http://youtu.be/G2vlk_b6UyE
Thirdhand smoke can end in many of the same ailments that
happen with secondhand smoking and even DNA damage. Yuck! Just another little
side note my husband whom is a radiological technologist tells me all the time that
someone whom smokes a pack of cigs a day gets 8 times more radiation then what
a RAD worker can get in a year of work. But that’s cool right? Smoking is cool….Its
calming…. It keeps you skinny…. Its harming your children’s quality of life…. But
cool right?! Naw!
Now that I have
posted the facts and physical effects of it what about the emotional effects. Some
of you may be say huh?! I worked within the school systems and one of the days
I was working I remember this event very vividly because it made me sad. This little
boy in second grade spent the better half of our outside play time trying to
get someone to play with him. He finally broke down crying and when the
teachers there with me and I asked him what was wrong he said no one wanted to
play with him. When we asked the kids around that he was trying to play with
why they wouldn’t play with him their answer was, “We don’t want to play with
him because he stinks!” They weren’t lying he smelled like he came from a very
heavily smoked in home environment. I can’t imagine what it feels like to be a
kid that small rejected by his peers just because his parents are careless and
send him out stinking like a smoke box. So yes it does affect them emotionally.
I know personally if I know someone that smokes and smokes a lot I limit my
exposure to them for the ‘mere fact that that smell ultimately gives me a
headache.
I don’t understand why people got so upset and hurt by me
posting my opinions about this topic.(Especially, when facts back my opinions.)
But I do understand that when it comes to parenting no one whom may be guilty
of an unsavory habit wants to hear they are wrong, even though they really do
know they are. So suck it up people the truth hurts sometimes. I know the word abuse it a bit strong but if you sit and really think about it... it could apply based on the severity of it. I hope if
anything my post shined a light onto the subject, even if you only read the
straight facts quoted! There now you know better! ;)
-<3Kim
-Photo credits: google.com images search
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