Each day, 3,600 young people under the age of 18 smoke their
first cigarette. From that, 900 of those young people become daily smokers. 88%
of adults who smoke on a daily basis smoked their first cigarette before the
age of 18. Kids with smoking parents are more than twice as likely to begin
smoking between the ages of 13-21 as kids with non-smoking parents.
Cigarettes cause nearly 443,000 deaths each year. Around
49,400 of those deaths were caused by exposure to secondhand smoke. An
estimated 3,000 NON-SMOKING Americans die each year from lung cancer and more
than 46,000 NON-SMOKERS die each year from heart disease. Secondhand smoke is responsible for 150,000-300,000 new
cases of bronchitis and pneumonia and is the cause of almost 7,500-15,000
hospitalizations each year in children 18 months of age and younger. Out of the
estimated 88 million non-smoking Americans 54% are children.
Alright, enough with the sad and sickening statistics. Here
is my real life example of why secondhand smoke and smoking around kids in
general is not only a bad idea, but why it should also be considered child
abuse. I’m a 29 year old male. I’ve been a firsthand smoker for just over 11
years now. Yes, 11 years too long and if you add all my years of secondhand
smoking that total number of years would probably be closer to 21. Over the
years, I’ve tried repeatedly to quit but just haven’t been able to quite kick
the habit.
My parents have smoked around me my entire life including,
but not limited to inside the house, inside the car, family gatherings,
outside, school and sporting events and other public events. Throughout the
years, I have not only inhaled their endless amounts of secondhand smoke but
also their bad…no, their deadly habit. It’s not just the secondhand smoke
that’s dangerous for our young. The message you send by producing the
secondhand smoke in front of a child is a dangerous message to send. Those are
things that I never have and never will expose my 8 month old daughter to, no
matter what age she is. It’s one thing to show or teach your child a bad habit.
It’s another thing, a completely different and wrong thing, to show or teach
your child a deadly habit.
The first encounter I had with cigarettes, other than my
parents puffing them down, was when I was about 3 or 4. I can’t remember all of
the exact details surrounding the incident but the main details are still fresh
in my memory. I’m not sure if I was just being sneaky at the time or if my
parents just took their eyes off me for a few moments-maybe they ran into the
kitchen for a quick snack or they may have been “just resting their eyes”-but
there it was right in front of me. A large shinny ash trash completely full of cigarette
butts. Being the youngster that I was at the time, I figured it was just
another toy for me to play with. So, I did what any young child would do, I dug
in. I was throwing butts in the air, blowing ashes around the living room and
having a really fun time. Sure, I wasn’t putting the butts in my mouth or acting
like I was smoking because it “made me look cool” or anything like that, but
the point is that I was exposed to that habit. I, for some strange reason went
on to play in numerous ash trays after that. I know, right? Kids…
And years later, after I had first made a toy out of my
parents ash tray, it’s no coincidence that my first few cigarettes came
straight out of my parents packs after they went to bed one night. And it’s no
coincidence that for most of my smoking life, I smoked my dad’s brand of choice
after my first full pack of smokes was a pack that I stole off the top of his refrigerator.
That pack of cigarettes sat on top of the fridge for weeks before I even
thought about jacking them. They were there for the taking.
I honestly don’t blame them for me smoking though. It was
ultimately my choice to light up and nobody else’s. I take the blame for
starting and not being able to quit. As a new parent, I take responsibility for
the fact that I have to quit, not only for me and my kid but for everybody
around me. Facts are facts and the fact is, parents have the biggest influence
in their children’s lives and it’s the parent’s job to set a good example for
them.
Unfortunately though, there are still people out
there-parents, role models, etc.-who don’t understand the risk of smoking in
front of and around their kids and other peoples kids as well. Not only are
they increasing the chances of those kids becoming smokers one day, they are
putting those kids health in jeopardy by increasing their chances of developing
asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia, diabetes, heart disease, lung disease and
numerous types of cancers. That’s just a small list of the many negative health
effects of not only firsthand smoke, but secondhand smoke as well.
There are also new
studies being done about the effects of thirdhand smoke-smoke that
lingers on things
like furniture and clothing and sticks to your hair and even walls-and
how it could be
just as dangerous as first and secondhand smoke. That’s a whole different
blog post though
and I’ll have to do more research before I write anything further on the
matter.
I can only write today, about what I know and
have researched on first and secondhand
smoke. You can
pretty much find whatever information you want on these subjects. The
facts are out
there and they have been for awhile now. Yet, despite having the warnings
pretty much slap
them in the face, like I have previously stated, people still continue to
smoke around
children. How much longer do those children have to suffer before
something clicks
inside the minds of those ignorantly blind and arrogantly stupid,
thoughtless,
careless parents and people?
How many children
and people have to die from smoking for something bigger to be
done? Something
that many Americans aren’t going to agree with or like…something
like the
government stepping in and passing legislation to not only ban smoking in
certain public
areas like so many places have already done, but also ban smoking
around children
everywhere.
Ok, before you go
off on me about why the government can’t and shouldn’t do that, this
idea comes from
an article I read on the State of Oregon
passing a law banning people
from smoking with
kids in the car. You can read that article here:
The topic of that
article, just like the topic of thirdhand smoke will be blogged about in
other post to come.
I will, however,
give you a little preview of one of the future post with the ending to
this present one. As I briefly explain why along with a
cigarette smoking ban in place at bars, restaurants and other public areas, an
all around ban on smoking around children-not just in the car but in all
places-should be adopted, too. That’s just how serious this issue is.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m all about freedom and our
rights as American citizens. I’m for the freedom to be able to do what we want,
when we want. I’m for my own personal rights and the rights of others. But when
it comes to our children, those freedoms and those rights should be put on the
back burner in every situation in order to keep our youth safe and healthy.
Children have the right to breathe in the cleanest air Mother Nature has to
offer wherever they are and wherever they go without having to smother in the
chemically polluted air that comes from cigarette and tobacco smoke.
I hope that I can find the strength and will power to quit
before my daughter is old enough to understand just what it is I am doing to
myself. But if I can’t, make no mistakes about it, I will NEVER smoke in front
of her or AROUND her. And I will do everything that I’m capable of doing to
keep her from lighting up like so many other young people out there are doing
today. I beg of all you smokers, whether you’re a parent or not, to please, do
the same as well.
Sources:
