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Home › Articles › Toddler Health › Smoke Into the Mouths of Babes

Smoke Into the Mouths of Babes

The Effects of Secondhand Smoke on Babies and Toddlers

By Lisa A. Goldstein

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Joann Fultz's kids saw her smoke, and knew enough to comment on its dangers. While they're older – at 10 and 9 years – their comments may provide a glimpse into the future for parents of babies and toddlers. If you continue smoking, your kids will learn in school – as Fultz's did – that smoking is bad for you. They felt strongly about Fultz not smoking and would say things like, "Mom, when you're older and you're pulling around an oxygen tank, don't ask me to help you" and "Mom, did you know that smoking is going to make you die?"

Fultz, of Monroeville, Pa., would sometimes smoke in the house, but it would be in her bedroom with her door shut and the window open, because she didn't want to expose her kids. Fultz has smoked on and off for 20 years, and says she enjoyed it when she was a lot younger, but now as a parent with older kids, it made her feel horrible. She started to think about her kids and how they'd feel if she got lung cancer or emphysema. She's been smoke-free since April 2006 and says she feels "guilt-free and wonderful!"

When asked about the smoking bans and other restrictive smoking legislation, Dr. Moss says they're effective at reducing smoking rates. Parents want help with quitting, she says. In fact, 70 percent of smokers want to quit but don't have the resources or support for doing so.

"Pediatricians and obstetricians are in an excellent position to provide this assistance," Dr. Moss says. "When I speak with parents who smoke, I emphasize that the best thing they can do for their health and their children's health is to quit smoking."

The Emotional Effects of Smoking

Smoking is a slippery slope. Not only will babies and toddlers be physically affected by secondhand smoke, but as they get older, they'll be emotionally affected too.

"The evidence is clear that most people who smoke start between the ages of 11 and 13," says Dr. Michael Kasper. "Ninety percent of all smokers start before the age of 20. Therefore, tobacco use is a pediatric disease and should be treated as such. Addiction is more profound in children and teens, and that is why marketing has been targeted to children. Even the current tobacco industry anti-smoking ads have the opposite effect by making kids want to participate in this 'adult' activity."

Another way to curb this is for parents – whether or not they smoke – to talk to their kids about not smoking, says Dr. Deborah Moss, because this has been shown to be associated with lower rates of teen smoking.


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