Second hand smoke:
¨ Second-hand smoke is a mixture of sidestream smoke (comes off a cigarette between puffs) and the smoke exhaled from the lungs of smokers.
¨ Fourty percent of nonsmokers are exposed to secondhand smoke.
¨ Second hand smoke may cause a wide range of adverse health effects, including:
o Cancer (Sidestream smoke has higher concentrations of cancer-causing agents than mainstream smoke).
o Asthma (Children of smoking parent (s) have a higher risk of developing asthma and allergies).
o Respiratory infections
o Reduced lung growth in children
o Reductions in postnatal pulmonary function
o Increased heart disease risk (Second hand smoke can damage the lining of blood vessels and increase the risk of heart diseases).
o Low birth weight and weaker lungs in babies (Pregnant women exposed to second hand smoke can give birth to the baby with low birth weight and weaker lungs. Pregnant women should avoid exposure to environmental smoke).
o Chronic otitis media
¨ Smoking family members should be advised to quit smoking and do everything possible to minimize environmental smoke exposure to the children around them.
No comments:
Post a Comment