The Facts About Passive Smoking and Children

Passive or second-hand smoking is harmful for anyone who shares space with a smoker. Even if you can’t see the smoke around you, it can still damage your lungs and increase the risk of lung cancer, cot death, and infections such as bronchitis in babies and young people.

How Passive Smoking Affects Your Child?

Smoke contains thousands of harmful chemicals that can affect your child’s health. Passive smoking is particularly harmful for young lungs and is linked to problems such as asthma and bronchitis in babies and children.

Being exposed to smoke at a young age can increase the risk of:

• Sudden infant death syndrome or cot death


• Developing asthma in childhood


• Having an asthma attack if the child is already affected by this condition


• Experiencing more frequent coughs and colds


• Middle ear infections, which can sometimes affect the hearing


• Chest infections such as pneumonia and bronchitis in babies and children


• Chronic bronchitis caused by irritation of the lungs


• Needing to be admitted to hospital if a chest infection occurs

Long term exposure to smoke can also increase the risk of lung cancer, heart disease and other serious conditions.

What Can You Do to Protect Your Child?

The best way to protect your child from second-hand smoke is to ensure that no one smokes in spaces where your family will spend time:

• Ban smoking form your house. Even if your children aren’t present, the chemicals from the smoke can still be there when they enter the room, so it’s best to avoid smoking completely.


• Don’t allow smoking in your car if babies or children will be travelling in it. Smoke can still affect children’s lungs even if it has been several hours since you were smoking.


• If you smoke, consider giving up. It will be good for your health and it will provide a good example for your child. Help is available from your GP if you want to quit smoking.


• Talk to your child about the risks of smoking from an early age so that they understand why it is a bad idea to start smoking when they are older.