The Dangers of Smoking Near Children That Need to Be Known

The danger of smoking near children. (Pixabay/Lukasbieri)

YOGYAKARTA - In addition to being dangerous for ourselves, smoking is also dangerous for those around us. Especially for babies and children. Cigarette smoke contains about 4,000 chemicals, some of which include harmful substances. Of these substances, there are approximately 50 chemicals that can cause cancer in adults. In this article, the dangers of smoking near children according to health will be discussed.

The Dangers of Cigarette Smoke for Children

Quoted from Healthy, below are the dangers of cigarette smoke that can affect children's health:

The danger of cigarette smoke causes asthma

Asthma occurs when the small airways in the lungs become inflamed. This inflammation makes the airways more sensitive to triggers. When the little one breathes in the trigger, the muscles around the airways will tense.

If this happens, the child will have a harder time breathing and cause coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath. Cigarette smoke is one of the triggers that can cause asthma to recur in children. Chemicals in cigarette smoke increase the frequency and more severe symptoms for children with asthma.

Respiratory tract infections

The next danger of cigarette smoke is still related to respiratory problems. Reported from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), exposure to cigarette smoke increases the risk of lower respiratory tract infections, such as bronchitis and pneumonia.

This is because cigarette smoke can damage the body's natural defenses, in fighting the bacteria and viruses that cause pneumonia and bronchitis. Babies whose mothers smoke are 50 percent more likely to be exposed to respiratory infections during their first year of life.

This risk can increase if the mother smokes while holding the baby or breastfeeding. Overall, exposure to cigarette smoke from an early age is likely to cause acute respiratory tract infections in children.

Cognitive impairment

If until now the dangers of cigarette smoke have often been associated with respiratory problems, cigarette smoke also has an impact on children's learning ability. The reason is that cigarette smoke can cause neurotoxicity at very low levels.

Neurotoxic itself is a substance that disrupts the central nervous system. More than 21.9 million children are at risk of having reading ability due to being passive smokers.

The higher level of exposure to cigarette smoke is also related to a greater decline in the ability to learn mathematics and visuospacial reasoning.

Ear infection

Ear infections are also one of the dangers of cigarette smoke that usually occur in children. This condition is often known as middle ear disease which includes acute otitis media and otitis media effusion.

The reason is that the smoke inhaled can irritate the eustachian tube or the part that connects the back of the nose to the middle ear.

Thus, there is swelling and blockage that interferes with the equalization of pressure in the middle ear. As a result, there is pain, excess fluid, and infection.

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome or SIDS

Babies exposed to cigarette smoke after birth are more at risk of dying from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). This risk is generally greater in babies whose mothers smoke during pregnancy.

Chemicals in cigarette smoke are thought to affect the way the brain works so that the baby's respiratory regulation is disturbed. Babies who die of SIDS have higher concentrations of nicotine and cotinine in their lungs.

Behavior problems

Behavioral problems due to exposure to cigarette smoke can occur while the baby is still in the womb. Pregnant women who do not smoke but become passive smokers are more likely to give birth to babies who have ADHD and behavioral disorders.

This risk is usually higher in girls than boys. However, on the other hand, boys are likely to have greater behavioral problems, such as hyperactivity, depression, aggression, and other behavioral problems.

That's the review of the dangers of smoking near children. Hopefully useful. Visit VOI.id for other interesting information.