Pediatrician’s Journal—

Cigarettes And Kids

by Jeff Cersonsky, MD, FAAP

My wife never smokes cigarettes inside the house but refuses to quit. I still think it’s not healthy for our baby. What do you think?

Cigarette smoke consists of carbon monoxide and particles of carbon, tar, and nicotine. Even when smokers are not smoking, they carry a layer of these particles around on themselves, which are constantly released into the air — that’s why they “smell like smoke.” This image reminds me of the Peanuts character Pigpen, with the cloud of dirt that follows him everywhere. Anyone in proximity to the smoker is breathing in these particles, which can have a negative affect on their lungs. This is especially true for those with respiratory diseases, such as asthma, as well as for infants and small children. The effect of these particles on infants and children is magnified because their lungs are so small. Children who are exposed to smoke are more prone to colds, pneumonia, sinus infections, bronchiolitis, and asthma. Although it’s admirable that your wife smokes only outside, for your baby’s sake, she should seriously think about quitting. There are many aids and medications available now to help her quit. Remind her that every time she hugs your infant, the baby breathes in smoke particles.

Don’t all children experiment with cigarette smoking? I’m more worried about drugs.

Although a considerable number of children do try smoking (53.7 percent by age twelfth grade), almost half do not. I see too much tolerance of this type of “experimentation” by teenagers. As I drive around, I frequently see children smoking outside middle school or high school, or waiting for the school bus. Just because you are rightfully concerned about teenage drug use doesn’t mean you have to approve of teenage cigarette smoking. On the contrary: since very few children who never smoke will ever try illegal drugs, preventing smoking will aid in the fight on drugs.

I stress with children that “peer pressure” is too often used as an excuse and that they are in control. No one is going to hold them down and force them to smoke.

One argument frequently used is that children need to experiment, so it is a losing battle to convince them not to smoke. Most teenagers realize that cigarette smoking is bad for them. I ask them whether they need to jump off a cliff to see how it feels to know it is not a good idea. The same applies to smoking cigarettes.

Another argument is that the first cigarette will cause them to gag and cough, presumably creating negative conditioning against trying another cigarette. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way. Many kids, to “prove their worth,” will usually try smoking again and again until they get the hang of it. Remember that chemical addictions, such as that to the nicotine in cigarettes, develop ten times as quickly with adolescents as with adults.

Parents, take a hard stance in disapproving of cigarette smoking. Explain factually the medical risks to the child but also stress how it makes their clothes and hair smell, their teeth yellow, and their wallets lighter, all important factors with teenagers. Tell the student athlete how smoking negatively affects her performance in sports. If you smoke, quit. It is very difficult to convince your child not to smoke when you have a cigarette in your hand. Children of smokers have a much higher risk of becoming smokers themselves.

Questions to Dr Cersonsky can be sent to jmcsdii@aerols.com.