What Effect Does Smoking Have on Kids?

The health risks of smoking and secondhand smoke are well-known, but children continue to be affected by the dangers of cigarettes. Educating children and parents about the negative effects of smoking is a vital step in protecting their long-term health.

Health Effects

• Children's growing and developing bodies are more susceptible to the poisons and carcinogens in smoke than adults. The American Cancer Society reports that secondhand smoke causes "150,000 to 300,000 lung infections, such as pneumonia and bronchitis, in children younger than 18 months of age, which result in 7,500 to 15,000 hospitalizations annually." Babies who breathe secondhand smoke are more likely to die of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome).

  According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, children who are exposed to smoke are more likely than their peers to suffer from frequent health problems, including ear infections, respiratory infections, bronchitis, and decreased lung function. Exposure to secondhand smoke also increases the severity of asthma attacks in older children and causes excess mucous, chest discomfort, wheezing, coughing, and breathlessness in children who do not have asthma.

Participation in Sports

• The health effects that children and teens experience from smoking and secondhand smoke can impact their ability to compete against their peers in sports. Decreased lung function, poor circulation, and rapid heart beat can all interfere with a child's ability to play sports. Smoking and secondhand smoke can also affect a young person's ability to get back into the game after an injury. According to the experts at Kidshealth.org, smoking decreases the body's production of collagen, which results in common sports injuries taking longer to heal. Sports are a way for children and teens to learn to work as a team and gain physical fitness; inability to participate is detrimental to overall health.

Parents as Role Models

• The experts at Kidshealth.org report that most children say that they want to be just like one of their parents when they grow up. When children see their role models smoking, they may mistakenly believe that smoking is harmless. Parents also often send the wrong message when they talk about the dangers of smoking but continue to smoke. Parents who smoke should talk to their children about why smoking is a mistake and make an effort to quit or cut back.

Experimenting

• According to a report published in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, children who smoked just one cigarette by the age of ten were twice as likely to become habitual smokers in adolescence as children who had never tried cigarettes. Similarly, children who smoked more than one cigarette by the age of ten were three times as likely as their peers to become habitual smokers. Educating children early about the dangers associated from smoking can help to keep them from experimenting with cigarettes.

Accidents

• According to "Its My Life" at PBSkids.org, about 1500 children die every year when their homes catch fire from unattended cigarettes.