Who are we?

1. Who are we? • KIISS • Kids Involuntarily Inhaling Secondhand Smoke • Creating Smoke-Free Homes and Cars for Kids

2. Topics • What is Secondhand Smoke (SHS) • What is the Problem • The Dangers of SHS Exposure • Why Kids are Susceptible • Health Risks to Kids • Pregnancy and SHS • Solutions for Protecting Kids

3. What is Secondhand Smoke (SHS) • A combination of the smoke emitted by the burning end of a cigarette, cigar or pipe and the smoke exhaled by the lungs of the smoker. Contains higher concentrations of many of the toxins found in inhaled cigarette smoke.

4. What is Secondhand Smoke (SHS) • How it works: • Tiny little hairs called cilia expel toxins and mucus from the lungs. SHS paralyzes the cilia leading to an increase in the buildup of bacteria and an increased number of infections.

5. What is the Problem • 2006 Report by the Surgeon General • There is no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke. • Breathing even a little secondhand smoke poses a risk to your health. • Separating smokers from non-smokers, cleaning the air, and ventilating buildings cannot eliminate secondhand smoke exposure.

6. What is the Problem • 2006 Report by the Surgeon General • 60 percent of nonsmokers have biological evidence of exposure. • Adult exposure decreasing due to workplace laws, but children still exposed at home. • Median cotinine levels in children are more than twice those in adults. • An estimated 22 percent of children (60 million) are exposed in their homes.

7. Dangers of SHS Exposure • The EPA has classified SHS as a Group A carcinogen – one of the most dangerous substances known to cause cancer. • Kills 50,000 nonsmokers each year - more Americans than murder, drugs, and AIDS combined. • SHS contains more than 4,000 chemicals! • Secondhand smoke causes 30 times more lung cancer deaths than do other air pollutants. • A nonsmoker married to a smoker has a 30 percent higher risk of getting lung cancer.

8. Dangers of SHS Exposure • Chemicals, gases, metals in cigarette smoke are inhaled by smokers and nonsmokers alike: • Metals: aluminum, titanium, lead… • Acetone – nail polish • Ammonia – floor/toilet cleaner • Arsenic – poison used in pesticides • Carbon monoxide – car exhaust fumes • Chromium – used to make steel • Ethanol – alcohol

9. Dangers of SHS Exposure • AND… • Formaldehyde – preserver of body tissue • Hexamine – barbeque lighter • Hydrogen cyanide – gas chamber poison, chemical weapons • Methanol – rocket fuel • Nitrobenzene – gasoline additive • Cancer Causing Agents: urethane, nickel, cadmium, nitrosamines…

10. Why Kids are Susceptible • Kids are Especially Susceptible! • Children breath at a faster rate than adults, inhaling more air. • Children’s bodies are smaller than adults, and their immune systems are less developed. • Often children can’t escape smoky environments. • Kids can inhale the equivalent of 102 packs of cigarettes by age 5(source: EPA).

11. Health Risks to Kids • Kids Suffer Increased Health Risks: • 4 times greater likelihood of needing tubes in their ears. • 78,600-188,700 physician office visits a year in California for middle ear infections. • Increased risk for bronchitis, pneumonia, colds, and other respiratory infections. • 900-1,800 hospitalizations, 16-25 deaths annually in California due to bronchitis or pneumonia in kids 18 months and under. (source: National Cancer Institute – 1999)

12. Health Risks to Kids • More severe asthma: • Statewide 48,000-120,000 children. • Grandmother’s smoking increases risk of asthma in grandchildren. • Reduced lung development and capacity. • Reduced ability to absorb essential nutrients like Vitamin C.

13. Health Risks to Kids • Increased risk of contracting cancer later in life. • Higher rates of school absenteeism nationwide: • 7 million more school days missed. • Impaired learning ability: reading, math, logic & reasoning. • Triple the risk of ADHD.

14. Pregnancy and Secondhand Smoke • The dangers of smoking during pregnancy • 4 times higher rates of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome): • 120 deaths a year in California. • Low birth weight and development issues. • Increased chance of miscarriage and stillbirth. • Increased risk of premature birth & birth defects. • Chemicals and nicotine enter breast milk and can cause restlessness, vomiting and diarrhea.

15. Solutions for Protecting Kids • What can you do? • Choose not to smoke in your home and car and don’t permit others to do so when children are present. • Tell guests that for the sake of your family’s health, you cannot allow smoking in your home or car. Have gum or mints available as an alternative.

16. Solutions for Protecting Kids • What can you do? • Post no smoking signs in your home and car to let people know about your decision to make these places smoke-free. • If someone in your household smokes, be understanding, but encourage him or her to quit or smoke outside. Let them know that cigarette smoke affects everyone, not just the smoker. Let them know you want to help.

17. Solutions for Protecting Kids • What can you do? • Don’t allow babysitters or other people who work in your home to smoke around you or your children. • Find out about the smoking policies of the day care providers, pre-schools, schools and other care-givers for your children.

18. Solutions for Protecting Kids • What can you do? • Help other parents understand the serious health risks to children from secondhand smoke. • Work with parent/teacher associations, your child board and school administrators, community leaders, and other concerned citizens to make your child’s environment smoke-free.