WHAT IS ENVIRONMENTAL TOBACCO SMOKE (ETS)?

Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States. It causes almost 20 percent of all the deaths in this country each year. People who are around smokers can’t help breathing in the smoke that comes from cigarettes, pipes or cigars. Researchers have now found that breathing in someone else’s smoke is very dangerous, especially for children.

Environmental Tobacco Smoke, or ETS, is the smoke that is breathed out by a smoker. ETS also includes the smoke that comes from the tip of a burning cigarette. Exposure to ETS happens any time someone breathes in the smoke that comes from a cigarette, pipe or cigar. ETS contains many dangerous chemicals that have been proven to cause cancer. It is estimated that ETS causes 3,000 lung cancer deaths each year to people who don’t even smoke!

ETS has almost 4,000 chemicals in it that infants and children breathe in whenever someone smokes around them. Children who breathe in ETS are at risk for many serious health problems. In addition, when a mother smokes during pregnancy, she has a higher risk of having a premature baby or a baby who is not fully developed. When a mother smokes during her pregnancy or around her newborn, the infant has a higher risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Children who breathe in someone else’s cigarette smoke (especially children under 2 years of age) have a higher risk of getting other serious medical problems or making them worse, including the following:

· Ear infections and hearing problems

· Upper respiratory infections

· Respiratory problems, such as bronchitis and pneumonia

· Asthma

Children of smokers also cough and wheeze more and have a harder time getting over colds. In addition, ETS can cause a stuffy nose, headache, sore throat, eye irritation, hoarseness, dizziness, nausea, loss of appetite, lack of energy or fussiness.
Children with asthma are especially sensitive to ETS. ETS can actually increase the number and severity of asthma attacks, which may require trips to the hospital. Also, exposure to the smoke of as few as 10 cigarettes per day raises a child’s chances of getting asthma even if that child has never had any symptoms. In addition, ETS can cause problems for children later in life including:

· Lung cancer

· Heart disease

· Cataracts (eye disease)