How to Protect Your Kids from Secondhand Smoke

f you or anyone else in your home smokes, the most effective way to prevent harm to the kids is to quit (or persuade the resident smoker to quit) as soon as possible. It is a hard habit to break but look at just some of the benefits you get for stopping: Healthier kids, less respiratory illness (and fewer medical bills) for you and for them, Clean home environment, no yellowing paintwork, no odors. Cleaner, healthier teeth & gums, which can save you from having work done at the dentist. Cleaner upholstery, curtains, and mirrors. No cost of cigarettes. No chance of household fire from a cigarette or of cigarette burns.

Make it a rule to never smoke inside the home, even in the middle of winter. Indoor smoke builds up and anyone in proximity to that smoke is a target of the carcinogenic chemicals and respiratory irritants cigarette smoke contains. The chemical particles also fall onto the household furniture, upholstery and walls, and continue to emit potentially damaging chemicals long after the cigarette is extinguished, not to mention the stale odor of tobacco smoke. But, standing on your driveway and lighting up will be bad for people who pass by, and smoke in the yard can easily go over walls and fences. However, smoking outdoors is always the best choice, because the smoke will naturally disappear much faster outdoors than indoors. Smoking in your home is similar to smoking in a car with the windows rolled up, except that the effects are more instant in a car rather than more long term in a home.

It is never okay to smoke in a car when you have kids, even when your kids are not in the car with you, because the smoke residue lingers and off-gases whenever the kids are in the car. Rolling down a window helps some, but can blow the smoke directly into your kids' faces.