Pervasiveness of Second-Hand Smoke Exposure in Homes - Research Paper Example

CHAPTER TWO: LITURATURE REVIEW 2 The pervasiveness of Second-hand smoke exposure in homes The rate at which children are exposed to second hand smoke in homes has been increasing drastically over time. In fact, a report by Akhtar et al. shows that 19% of children and adolescents were exposed to second-hand smoke while they were at home (qtd. in Shaw, Ritchie, Semple, Turner, O’Donnell, Amos, Mills, & Wilson 2012). Besides, apart from pin pointing that second hand smoke is harmful to arterial health (≥1.7 ng/ml), the report also highlights the importance of working towards ensuring that there is reduction in the amounts of second hand smoke exposure in the homes (qtd. in Shaw et al., 2012). Equally important, the numbers of children who report second-hand smoke at home has largely increased over time. Quite surprisingly however, most of the children who report second hand smoke exposure point out that they have at least one of their parents smoking (Shaw et al., 2012). This therefore shows that there is a very close correlation between the pervasiveness of second-hand smoke exposure in children in homes and the increasing number of people who smoke. In the disadvantaged areas where smoking rates are higher than the average and the rehabilitation rates are lower, the topic of second-hand smoke exposure has become a major issue that has affected the children. To elaborate, previous researchers have found out that socio-economic status of people living in different areas has largely influenced the prevalence of people smoking due to lack of employment or sufficient income, overcrowding, poor housing or homelessness, and single parenting among others (Shaw et al., 2012). This can largely be attributed to the fact that smoking has been widely used by people as a means of virtually reducing their stress, more so when they face the mentioned economic conditions. Equally important, Shaw et al., point out that the cases of smoking in homes is more dominant among poor or low income parents (2012), and thus due to this fact, the people who come from a lower social group face the challenge of becoming addicted to smoking as compared to the people who come from higher social group. Besides, the people who reside in areas that are of lower socioeconomic status have less chances of experiencing or having a total ban on smoking in their homes relative to the individuals who reside in areas that are of high socioeconomic status. Besides, Shaw et al., contend that introduction of smoke free legislation will result to the reduction of cotinine levels among the children (2012). However, it is worth noting that Akhtar states that the cotinine levels amongst the children living in areas with low socioeconomic statuses will still be higher as compared to the children from wealthy and more affluent economic conditions. Therefore, the introductory of smoke free regulation by the American government more so in areas with lower socioeconomic status will play a huge role in the reduction of the effects of second hand smoke on little children. 2.2 Second-hand smoke and pregnancy Many people are usually aware that active maternal smoking before and at the time of pregnancy can lead to various conditions such as the can increase the risk of a range of conditions, including weakening and deformation of the unborn baby and the disruption of the baby’s future growth and development. Nonetheless, many pregnant non-smoking mothers do not put into consideration that second hand smoke that is inhaled by the mothers can cause negative effects on the life and reproductive health of the fetus or the young born. However, this risk is usually less harmful as compared to that of the mothers who smoke prior to or during pregnancy since direct smoking will expose the unborn child to large amounts of smoke and thus causing huge damage in terms of respiratory and growth conditions. The Royal College of Physicians points out that up to 19,000 of babies have been exposed to second hand smoke during their gestation period have been found to be underweights at the time of birth (qtd. in Shaw et al., 2012). This shows that there is quite a large percentage of mothers and children who are constantly affected by the availability of second smoke in the environment. However, even though there has been a significant drop in the number of pregnant mothers who smoke, it is important to note that the number of women affected by second hand smoke has increased considerably (Shaw et al., 2012). This therefore implies that pregnant women are getting cautious of their children’s lives since they understand the consequences that smoking can have on the fetus. In addition, various studies have suggested that mothers who smoke deliver babies that are averagely 250 grams lighter than those who are born in healthy conditions, and this could cause serious recurring medical complications on the lives of the children. In particular, Lumley et al. points out that children who are born underweight could experience deadly diseases such as coronary heart diseases, high blood pressure, type two diabetes and can become overweight when they grow up (qtd. in Shaw et al., 2012). This therefore implies that the exposure of children to either passive or active smoke is dangerous since it not only affects the present health of the children but also triggers future health problems and diseases such as heart diseases, type two diabetes and high blood pressure among others. 2.3 Effects of second-hand smoke exposure on children’s health Arguably, newborn children are the ones who are faced with the highest risk of inhaling passive smoke since they do not possess the ability to remove themselves from the environments that have smoke. Furthermore, small children have faster breathing rates, smaller air paths and immature immune systems thereby increasing their risk to develop health related complications as compared to adults who have mature immune systems and can possibly vacate areas with smoke. Equally, children and infants are faced with greater risk of inhaling household dust and dust resulting from other public functions, which contain passive smoke quantities, as compared to adults who have the ability to cover their noses. Comparatively, Infants also have greater hand/object/mouth contact due to their state of activeness and thus they usually inhale a huge percentage of second hand smoke and other dust particles, thereby causing them respiratory diseases such as asthma (Shaw et al., 2012). This therefore shows that there is need to ensure that children are not exposed to second hand smoking or dusts since not only do they possess a great level of contact that increases their chances of inhaling dust and smoke, their immune systems are still young and immature thus making them vulnerable to diseases. Similarly, although protecting the children from second hand smoke in homes is a great step towards reducing of the health risks associated by smoking, it is important for parents to ensure that they do not smoke at all since either way, there are traces of smoke which will “find their way” to the children’s respiratory system. In fact, a study which aimed at finding out the several measures of children exposure to second-hand smoke established that parents who smoke or families with smokers who take several measures to protect their children from passive smoke, are still faced with the danger of inhaling 5-10 times more passive smoke as compared to the children in non-smoking families (Shaw et al., 2012). Nonetheless, these families are way ahead in terms of managing the exposure of their children to second hand or passive smoke, as compared to those families which absolutely do nothing to reduce the effects of second hand smoke. 2.4. The smoke-free legislation According to Shaw et al., the introduction of the legislation to prohibit citizens from smoking in public and work areas in Scotland, that was instituted in 2006 served as a major step towards the reduction of the effects caused by second hand smoke in the society (2012). Therefore, the introduction of this piece of legislation has played an important role in reducing the negative effects of second hand smoking, however, it will be appropriate that similar pieces of legislations be enacted so as to reduce the exposure of second hand smoke on children and other vulnerable groups in areas other than public places. Meanwhile, researchers have found a high correlation between the introduction of smoke-free legislation and the reduction in the effects of second-hand smoke exposure more so among the children and workers working in public places (Shaw et al., 2012). Comparatively, a research by The Royal College of Physicians found out that there has been a significant reduction in the number of people who have respiratory health problems resulting from the exposure of second hand smoke (Shaw et al., 2012), and thus this can be largely attributed to the introduction and implementation of the smoke free legislation. Although this legislation has played a huge role in terms of reducing the effects of passive smoke, it is worth noting that in some public areas and other public recreational centers, people have been seen to be smoking publicly thus increasing the chances of secondary smoke exposure to the public. As the policy maker therefore, the government, through its various agencies should educate and explain to the public in these areas on the benefits of a smoke free public zone as well as the health effects of both active and passive smoke (Shaw et al., 2012). It is thus the duty of the government and other non-governmental organizations to ensure that the citizens follow this legislation strictly, and anyone who goes against it should be punishable by law. 2.5 The effect of tobacco control legislation on second-hand smoke exposure in the home The act of reduction in the prominence of smoking among parents and families is one of the ideal ways that the government has used to reduce the effects of second-hand smoke in children. Other legislations which have enabled the government to reduce and prevent second hand smoke exposure among children and adolescents include the enactment of various bills relating to the control of tobacco, increase of tax in tobacco, provision of health warning signs in public places, banning tobacco and cigarette advertisement, provision of free educational awareness and cessation services and carrying out mass media campaigns amongst others. Doing this will ensure that citizens become conversant with the adverse effects that are caused by exposure of secondary smoke more so to the children and young adolescents. Still, homes remain one of the places that have led to the increase in the level of exposure of children to second hand smoke thereby causing them respiratory diseases and other health complications. As Callinan points out, Children have very little control over themselves, let alone their environment, and thus they may not be capable of removing themselves from places or environments which have second-hand smoke and dust (qtd. in Shaw et al., 2012). For this reason, parents should be encouraged to implement policies that will ensure that there is a smoke-free environment in their homes in order to reduce the prominence of the negative effects caused by second hand smoke on the health of their children and the public in general. Reference Shaw, A., Ritchie, D., Semple, S., Turner, S., O’Donnell, R., Amos, A., Mills, L., and Wilson, I. (2012). Reducing Children’s Exposure to Secondhand Smoke in the Home. A Report by ASH Scotland, 15, 3-47. Read More