Young Children Are At Greatest Risk Children under 18 months of age are at the greatest risk of suffering serious illnesses from secondhand smoke. Every year, thousands of infants and children are hospitalized for secondhand smoke-related illnesses. Research has proven that children who are exposed to secondhand smoke have about a 40 percent higher rate of new ear infections, and when they get ear infections they last nearly one and one half times longer than those not exposed to smoke. During pregnancy, nicotine byproducts and other dangerous chemicals in smoke enter the mothees bloodstream, then pass into the unborn baby's body. We spend more time in our homes than anywhere else.
Nobody likes the thought of cancer-causing chemicals circulating throughoutourhouses and apartments.
Yet according to the EPA, that is exactly what happens when someone lights a cigarette in your home. Ventilation systems in homes cannot filter and circulate air well enough to eliminate secondhand smoke. Blowing smoke away from children, going into another room to smoke, or opening a window may help reduce children's exposure, but will not protect them from the dangers of secondhand smoke. The greatest benefit of a smokefree home is that you will remove from your home all the health risks associated with secondhand tobacco smoke. Your food will taste better.