Creating Smoke-Free Homes and Cars for Kids

1. 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 More 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.1

4. What is Secondhand Smoke (SHS) • SHS has higher concentrations of many of the toxins found in inhaled cigarette smoke.1 • SHS contains more than 4,000 chemicals, at least 250 of which are toxic, and more than 50 of which can cause cancer!1

5. What is Secondhand Smoke (SHS) • Chemicals, gases, and metals in cigarette smoke that are inhaled by smokers and non-smokers alike:2 • Metals: aluminum, titanium, lead… • Acetone – nail polish • Ammonia – floor/toilet cleaner • Arsenic – poison used in pesticides • Carbon monoxide – car exhaust fumes • Chromium VI –pigments for dyes, inks • Ethanol – alcohol

6. What is Secondhand Smoke (SHS) • AND… • Formaldehyde – preserver of body tissue • Benzene – industrial solvent • Hydrogen cyanide – gas chamber poison, chemical weapons • Methanol – rocket fuel • Nitrobenzene – gasoline additive • Polonium 210 –chemical element that gives off radiation • Cancer Causing Agents: urethane, nickel, cadmium…

7. What is the Problem? • The Environmental Protection Agency has classified SHS as a Group A carcinogen – one of the most dangerous substances known to cause cancer.3 • In 2006, the California Environmental Protection Agency’s Air Resources Board designated SHS a Toxic Air Contaminant, an “airborne toxic substance that may cause and/or contribute to death or serious illness”.4

8. What is the Problem? • The U.S. Surgeon General’s 2006 report on secondhand smoke concluded that secondhand smoke causes disease and premature death in nonsmoking adults and children.5

9. What is the Problem • 2006 Report by the Surgeon General5 • 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.

10. What is the Problem • 2006 Report by the Surgeon General5 • 60 percent of nonsmokers have biological evidence of exposure. • Adult exposure is decreasing due to workplace laws, but children are still exposed at home. • Children show levels of exposure more than twice those of adults. • An estimated 22 percent of children (60 million) are exposed in their homes.

11. What is the Problem • Parents are responsible for 90 percent of children’s exposure to secondhand smoke.6 • It takes up to three hours for the smoke from one cigarette to clear from an average sized room.7

12. What is the Problem • Even after the smoke is gone, toxic residue remains on the carpet, walls and on objects. Children may absorb these toxins.8 • Smoking in cars, even with the windows open, can produce smoke pollution that compares with smoky bars .9

13. Dangers of SHS Exposure • Kills more than 50,000 nonsmokers each year,10 about the same number of Americans as die from murder, drugs, and AIDS combined11 • Causes more than 3,000 lung cancer deaths and more than 45,000 heartattack deaths in NON-SMOKING adults each year4 • A nonsmoker exposed to SHS at work or home increases their risk of heart disease by 25-30%, and lung cancer by 20-30%12

14. Dangers of SHS Exposure • Normally, tiny little hairs called cilia expel toxins and mucus from the lungs. Tobacco smoke damages the cilia, leading to a buildup of bacteria and an increased number of infections.

15. Why Kids are More 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 5.13

16. Health Risks to Kids • Increased risk for bronchitis, pneumonia, colds, and other respiratory infections3,5 • twice as likely to suffer from acute lower respiratory disease14 • Greater risk of middle ear infections3,5 • greater likelihood of needing tubes in their ears and losing their hearing

17. Health Risks to Kids Asthma: • Can cause new cases of asthma3,5 • Can trigger attacks, and make attacks more severe3,5 • 400,000 to 1 million US children have their asthma worsened by exposure to SHS16 • Asthma is the 3rd leading cause of hospitalization for kids under 1517

18. Health Risks to Kids • Reduced lung development and capacity3,5 • coughing, wheezing, breathlessness • Increased risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)3,5 • May increase risk of leukemia, lymphoma, and brain tumors in children5

19. Health Risks to Kids • Increased risk of contracting cancer later in life15 • Higher rates of school absenteeism nationwide20 • Impaired learning ability: lower scores on reading, math, logic & reasoning tests21

20. Pregnancy and Secondhand Smoke • Dangers of secondhand smoke and smoking during pregnancy: • Higher rates of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)5,22 • Low birth weight and development issues5 • Low birth weight is the second leading cause of infant death23

21. Pregnancy and Secondhand Smoke • Increased chance of miscarriage and stillbirth5 • Increased risk of premature birth5 • Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)24 • Weaker lungs, which increases the risk for many health problems5

22. Solutions for Protecting Kids • What can you do? • Don’t smoke in your home and car and don’t let others to do so when children are present. • Never smoke around a pregnant woman and if you’re pregnant, don’t smoke.

23. Solutions for Protecting Kids • Tell guests that you don’t allow smoking inside because you want to protect your family. • Make gum or mints available as an alternative for guests who smoke. • Place a chair, table and ashtray outside to make guests feel more comfortable smoking there.

24. Solutions for Protecting Kids • 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.

25. Solutions for Protecting Kids • 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.

26. Solutions for Protecting Kids • 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.

27. Solutions for Protecting Kids The best thing you can do for your children’s health is quit smoking • California Smoker’s Helpline 1.800.NO.BUTTS www.nobutts.org • US Dept. of Health and Human Services 1.800.QUITNOW 1800quitnow.cancer.gov

28. For more information contact: • Kids Involuntarily Inhaling • Secondhand Smoke • www.kiiss.org • Funding provided by: • First 5 Placer - Children & • Families Commission • www.placer.ca.gov/cfc