Last year in this area, a baby girl was born addicted to crack cocaine. Her addiction was attributed to her mother's use of the drug during her pregnancy. She was eventually discharged to her mother's care and place of residence.
Unfortunately her story does not end here. She did not fully recover from the addiction she was born with. She was not afforded the life of a new born baby in a healthy environment. Crack cocaine had a firm grip on her fragile body, for her mother and grandmother continued to use it, subjecting her to it's smoke.
The second hand smoke this child was subjected to had a devastating effect on her small body. It ate away at her organs, attacking her lungs, stomach and intestines. One cannot imagine the pain this child was forced to bear. In a short time, the damage became rampant and ravaged her body to the extent that it took only a few months to take her life.
How, one might ask, can a mother subject her child to something as dangerous as smoke from crack cocaine? Did she not realize it's smoke would have such an effect on her? Her baby cried to her in pain but she failed to respond to her pleas as did her grandmother. This babie's life was very short, but considering the pain she beared, it must have seemed like an eternity.
Second hand smoke does not only relate to crack cocaine, but to tobacco as well. I, have been guilty as many other parents who subjected their children to second hand smoke. I smoked throughout our house in their presence. I smoked at the dinner table as well as the living room while watching tv. I smoked while driving with them in the backseat, constantly unaware of why they always wanted their back windows lowered, even on cold or chilly days. I did not quit smoking until their late teenage years. As predicted by research, two of my three children presently smoke.
Second hand smoke has an effect on anyone who has to inhale it, be it plain tobacco or illicit drugs. Listed below are some facts and statistics that deal with second hand smoke and smoking.
Secondhand smoke is a mixture of the smoke given off by the burning end of a cigarette, pipe or cigar and the smoke exhaled from the lungs of smokers.
Secondhand smoke is estimated to cause 3,000 lung cancer deaths annually and 35,000 heart disease deaths in non-smokers each year.
In the U.S., 43 percent of children are exposed to second-hand smoke in their own homes and 85 percent of children have detectable levels of nicotine in their blood.
Each year more than 400,000 Americans die from a tobacco-related illness, the number one preventable cause of death in the United States.1
More than three hundred thousand babies get sick from second hand smoke every year.
Studies show that babies whose parents smoke are admitted twice as often to hospitals for conditions such as bronchitis and pneumonia.
Children under the age of 2 are particularly susceptable because their lungs and immune system are not yet fully developed.
The symptoms of children who have asthma can also be aggravated by living with smokers.5
Children of parents who smoke can inhale the equivilent of one hundred five packs of cigarettes by the time they reach the age of five.
Smoking alone in a designated room away from children does not deminish second hand smoke's effect on others. Smoke can be circulated throughout the house by air conditioners, heaters fans and vents.
Smoke left lingering in a room can be inhaled second hand by another individual for a period of up to two hours later.
The smoke from a cigarette left sitting in an ashtray is more potent than smoke that is inhaled and exhaled through smoking.
Every day 3,000 children become regular smokers as a result of nicotine addiction, and almost one-third of them prematurely lose their lives to a smoking- related disease.2
An infant's risk of dying from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) increases 5 times if he or she is exposed to secondhand smoke in the room.3 Secondhand smoke also increases the risk of lung cancer and asthma.
Smoking in childhood or adolescence increases the risk of developing cardiac disease -- the number one cause of death in the United States.
Young adult smokers are 1.43 times more likely to have a stroke than their nonsmoking peers.4
Smoking is linked to not only lung cancer, but also other respiratory problems like coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath.
Children and adolescents who use tobacco have smaller lungs than their peers, and therefore tend to be less physically fit than their peers.
Adolescents' use of smokeless tobacco increases their risk of oral cancer and nicotine addiction.
It is estimated that it costs this country $7.00 in lost productivity and health care for every pack of cigarettes smoked.
1. Unless otherwise noted, all data is taken from the 1994 U.S. Surgeon General's Report.
2. Food and Drug Administration statement, July 13, 1995.
3. Journal of the American Medical Association, March 8, 1995.
4. "Cigarette Smoking Increases Risk of Stroke In Young Adults," AMA Brief Reports, June 20, 1990.
5. University of Michigan Health System.
Life begins with a breath of air
Inhaling and exhaling we go through without a care
One day you decide to try something new
It sounded like the coolest thing to do
Everyone was doing it, it was all the rage
Anyone could get them, no matter their age
Inhaling the first time it tasted real gross
You coughed, your eyes watered and you began to choke
Why the second puff anyone would take
The first try let you know it was a mistake
So again you try as you begin to feel sick
Maybe it won’t be so bad with the next cigarette
Inhaling over the years go by
Cases and cases of cigarettes you buy
With some coffee or maybe some beers
You continued to smoke throughout the years
In time studies begin to say
Smoking could possibly kill you one day
You sat back rest-assured
That won’t happen to me, I feel too good
As People around you began to die
You thought maybe you should quit, you should try
You kick back and take another big puff
It’s too hard to quit; your life’s too rough
“I will try to quit” you often would say
“I will stop this coming New Year’s Day”
You’d quit for maybe a day or two
Then you would say, “Quitting isn’t something you’re ready to do”
Down to the corner liquor store you’d go
“I’ll quit tomorrow,” we hear as you enter the door
Day after day you’d sit and you’d sit
Puffing and puffing, you just don’t quit
It’s always one excuse after the other
You don’t want to quit you needn’t bother
More and more the days go by
Now the day we dreaded has arrived
You have cancer, you are real sick
You need to stop smoking! You need to quick!
Please stop smoking and this time really try
You are my Daddy; I don’t want you to die.
Written Sunday, December 8, 2002 at 17:32:45 by: Eleanor Walder
I just wrote this poem in tribute to my Father, he has just been diagnosed with Lung Cancer. If you can relate to this poem and would like to share it with someone you love please do. Bet wishes to you all.
copywrite Eleanor Walder 12/4/2002
The above written poem is posted with consented approval by it's author. Thank you Eleanor.
