Are secondhand smoke harmful to newborns?

Many people have the habit of smoking, and everyone knows that smoking is very harmful to the human body, especially to women and children. Cigarettes contain many chemicals and the chance of cancer is particularly high. If babies often inhale secondhand smoke, it will make the baby more susceptible to illness, affect the baby's growth and development, and may also increase the baby's risk of cancer. Therefore, it is best not to smoke as much as possible.

Effects of secondhand smoke on children

1. Greatly increase the risk of malignant tumors in children

Because children's detoxification ability is much lower than that of adults, they are more vulnerable to the harm of secondhand smoke. Under the same level of secondhand smoke exposure, the level of carcinogens contained in tobacco in children's urine samples is 1.6-8 times that of adults. Long-term exposure of children to secondhand smoke can cause leukemia, lymphoma and brain tumors.

2. Triggering asthma in children

Children who are exposed to secondhand smoke for a long time are more likely to suffer from respiratory diseases and lung infections such as bronchitis, pneumonia, and bronchial asthma. Especially asthma, when secondhand smoke works together with mites in the room, it can make preschool children have a higher incidence of asthma.

3. Affect children's hearing development

Several studies in the UK have shown that children who live in a smoky home environment for a long time are more likely to suffer from diseases such as acute otitis media, middle ear effusion, and tympanic membrane tension. Severe cases may even affect hearing.

4. Affect children's height

Scientists observed 9,273 children for 36 years. The results show that passive smoking does have an impact on the physiological development of children aged 6 to 11. According to statistics, children from families where parents smoke more than ten cigarettes a day are on average 0.65 cm shorter than children from non-smoking families.

5. Cause cardiovascular disease in children

Children and adolescents who are exposed to passive smoking at home for a long time have a decreased concentration of high-density lipoprotein in their blood. High-density lipoprotein is a beneficial lipoprotein in the blood. If its concentration is reduced, it can affect the normal cardiovascular function.

6. Induce anorexia

It is difficult for children to expel the harmful substances they inhale after being exposed to passive smoking. If the father smokes while the baby is eating, it can easily affect the child's appetite. When the child associates eating with smoking, he may become anorexic.

7. Affect children's intellectual development

Long-term passive smoking will affect children's intellectual development. According to the latest scientific research, children who are exposed to passive smoking for a long time will have their IQ drop by two points. Cotinine is a substance produced when nicotine breaks down. Once the level of cotinine in children's blood increases, their reading, math and reasoning abilities will decline.

To keep children away from the harm of secondhand smoke, parents can do this

1. At home: Implement a smoke-free family plan. As parents, for the sake of your children's health, you should quit smoking consciously and not smoke at home. If you can't quit smoking, you should also reduce the number of times you smoke at home and avoid smoking in front of your baby.

2. Resolutely avoid secondhand smoke. If you have relatives or friends visiting your home, encourage them not to smoke in the room and suggest them to go outdoors.

3. Let your children eat more fresh fruits and vegetables (especially those rich in carotene and vitamin C), because vitamins have antioxidant functions and can fight cancer, such as papaya, tomato, carrot, pumpkin and other fruits and vegetables.

4. Drink more water and urinate more often. Exercising more and sweating more can speed up the elimination of harmful substances such as nicotine from the body.