Second-hand smoke is dangerous to everyone, but it affects children even more. Children are smaller, and breathe faster than adults. They take in more harmful chemicals per pound of their weight than an adult would in the same amount of time.
Children have less choice than adults.
They don't have as much say in what situations they end up in. Very young children who don't want to be around smoke cannot tell us. Older children may not be feel comfortable saying anything. Or, they may not be allowed to leave a smoke-filled environment even if they did ask to. In Canada, second-hand smoke is responsible for about 400,000 illnesses each year in children.