Secondhand Smoke Can Make Children Suffer Serious Health Risks

As you are aware, on July 1, 2012 NSU will join nearly 400 U.S. colleges and universities and become a smoke-free and tobacco-free campus. A healthy campus environment is of paramount importance to our university. We believe the adoption of this policy is the right decision and demonstrates our commitment to the health of the NSU community.

However, a healthy home environment is just as important, especially for children. The following information is provided from the website of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Breathing secondhand smoke can be harmful to children’s health including asthma, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), bronchitis and pneumonia and ear infections.

Children’s exposure to secondhand smoke is responsible for:

increases in the number of asthma attacks and severity of symptoms in 200,000 to 1 million children with asthma;
between 150,000 and 300,000 lower respiratory tract infections (for children under 18 months of age); and,
respiratory tract infections resulting in 7,500 to 15,000 hospitalizations each
year.

Join the millions of people who are protecting their children from secondhand smoke

You can become a child’s hero by keeping a smoke-free home and car. Secondhand smoke can cause children to suffer bronchitis, pneumonia, ear infections and more severe asthma attacks. Read More About Health Effects

A few basic actions can protect children from secondhand smoke

Choose not to smoke in your home and car and do not allow family and visitors to do so. Infants and toddlers are especially vulnerable to the health risks from secondhand smoke.
Do not allow childcare providers or others who work in your home to smoke.
Until you can quit, choose to smoke outside. Moving to another room or opening a window is not enough to protect your children.

If you want to quit smoking (or using other tobacco products), the university offers FREE tobacco cessation programs and resources, including non-prescription Nicotine Replacement Therapy (e.g., patch, gum, lozenges). For more information, visit Quit Smoking Now.

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Secondhand Smoke Can Make Children Suffer Serious Health Risks