You Really Think Your Smoking Only Affects You? Think Again

Just a simple 10 minutes worth of secondhand cigarette smoke can begin to affect the cardiovascular function.

I have heard people say that there is no way to stop smoking. They just cannot or are too weak to do it. I smoked for years, and when I got pregnant with my little boy (5 years ago), I laid them down and have never picked them up again. And if you know me or could know me, you would know that I am not the type of person to give up things easily (even if they are bad for me).

However, I was not about to expose my unborn child to cigarettes. That was an absolute no-no. It is bad enough when children have to be exposed to second hand smoke when they are growing up. But exposing them to secondhand smoke before they are born is 50 times worse. It is simply saying that the baby may as well have a cigarette in his/her mouth also.

It is not just children who are affected by secondhand smoke. Everyone is affected by it. Secondhand smoke can cause cancer, asthma, and/or respiratory infections.

The Surgeon General Reports that secondhand smoke can actually cause damage to lining of blood vessels, reduce variability of heart rate, decrease the coronary flow in velocity reserves, due to making the blood platelets thicker. This is just from a short time of exposure to secondhand smoke.

According to the American Lung Association, secondhand smoke causes up to 50,000 (yes, fifty thousand) deaths a year. Now how many do you think actual smoking kills? Around 3,400 persons exposed to secondhand smoke end up and/or die with lung cancer. Heart disease from secondhand smoke kills around 22,700 plus persons each year.

Children are even more susceptible to the dangers of secondhand smoke. 150,000 to 300,000 cases of lower respiratory infections in children are reported each year and caused by secondhand smoke. It results in 7,500 to 15,000 hospitalizations for children each year from these infections. It has been proven that secondhand smoke has caused around 430 cases of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) annually in the United States.

Secondhand smoke can actually cause fluid to build up in the inner ear of children. And it can cause symptoms of asthma to become worse.

The tobacco company Phillip Morris did research (a study done in the 1980's) that proved secondhand smoke is very toxic. The past two decades, however, they have suppressed that information.

So, if you think that smoking only affects the person with the cigarette in their mouth...think again. It will affect everyone around them, especially children. If you are pregnant and smoking, you may as well go ahead and give the baby a cigarette also. Because, he/she is actually smoking also.

There is plenty of help out there now to stop smoking. Get it before it is too late. You can get more information on secondhand smoke, smoking, and quitting smoking from the American Lung Association by calling them at 1-800-586-4872 or visiting at the website listed in sources. You can stop smoking, you cannot give a person back their life if they are exposed to your secondhand smoke and get sick or die.

Source:

American Lung Association

www.lungusa.org