Do You Know What Your Child is Breathing? Rat Poison Among Chemicals in Cigarette Smoke

[Guest guest]

Nicotine Addiction Part 4 - Nicotine Addiction As Potent As Cocaine and

Heroin by Hazel Trice Edney NNPA Washington Correspondent ...

http://www.blackpressusa.com/News/Article.asp?SID=3 & Title=National+News & NewsID=1\

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Nicotine Addiction Part 5 -

*Do You Know What Your Child is Breathing? Rat Poison Among Chemicals in

Cigarette Smoke*

by Hazel Trice Edney

NNPA Washington Correspondent

Originally posted 5/3/2007

http://www.btimes.com/News/article/article.asp?NewsID=13063 & sID=3

Editor's Note: More than a half million African-Americans have died from

smoking-related diseases over the past decade. That's enough people to

fill the cities of Atlanta, New Orleans, Kansas City, Mo., or Cleveland,

Ohio.

Yet, 'cigarette smoking is the single most preventable cause of premature

death in the United States', according to the Centers for Disease Control.

Then why are so many Black people dying from cigarettes and why is it so

difficult to quit? This eight-part series - ''Nicotine Addiction'' - seeks

to explore these questions by featuring real people, real circumstances,

and real answers.

WASHINGTON (NNPA) - Terry places her sleeping toddler in the crib; then

leaves the room for a break. With her baby daughter sound asleep, it's a

good time for a smoke. The 33-year-old nurse's assistant is well aware of

health threats, therefore is careful not to smoke around the little one.

''She was a pre-mature baby. And so, you have to watch what you do around

her - period,'' says Terry, who asked that her married name not be used in

order to protect the privacy of her family.

Relaxing in the next room with her three teenaged stepchildren, she enjoys

her Newport Lights. This mother of four thinks she's being responsible as

she protects her 18-month-old from cigarette smoke.

But, even with nurse's training, she is unaware that all of the children -

including her sleeping baby - is in extreme danger, according to the

Centers for Disease Control.

Persistent smoking from someone inside the home is a threat to the entire

household - even if others are not in direct contact, says the

Atlanta-based government research agency. The CDC reports that harmful

chemicals in tobacco smoke, including arsenic, the dominant ingredient of

rat poison - not only seeps through cracks in walls and remains in the air

where people have been smoking, but it takes up to two weeks for the

nicotine in tobacco smoke to dissipate in a room.

''That is why it is so important for smokers to go all the way outside if

they want a cigarette,'' says a CDC report, ''Pathways to Freedom, Winning

the Fight Against Tobacco.'' Children who are around tobacco smoke in

their homes have more health problems like asthma and ear infections. They

are sicker and stay in bed more. They miss more school days than children

whose homes are smoke-free. Babies who live in homes with secondhand smoke

are more likely to die as infants than other babies.''

The report adds that the number of Black children with asthma is 25

percent higher than the number of White children with asthma - ''These

children can have attacks if they breathe cigarette smoke.''

Moreover, most Americans don't know about the harmful chemicals in tobacco

smoke.

According to the CDC, there are 4,700 chemicals in tobacco smoke - at

least 60 that cause cancer in humans. The list of chemicals include

arsenic - rat poison; acetone - fingernail polish remover; ammonia -

toilet cleaner; butane - cigarette lighter fluid; cadmium used in paint;

carbon monoxide - car exhaust fumes; formaldehyde - used to preserve dead

people; hexamine - barbecue lighter; hydrogen cyanide - gas chamber

poison; methanol - rocket fuel; naphthalene - mothballs; nicotine - an

insecticide and an addictive drug; nitrobenzene - a gasoline additive, and

stearic acid - candle wax.

The listing of these chemicals give new meaning to the term, ''secondhand

smoke,'' which the Environmental Protection Agency has classified as ''a

known cause of cancer in humans.'' Still, the most loving mother, when

addicted to nicotine, takes the risk.

''Lately, I haven't tried to quit'' When I've tried to quit, I get

headaches. Every time I've tried to stop, I just get mean,'' Terry says. A

smoker for 14 years, Terry says she has only tried to quit cold turkey,

with no outside assistance. It has always failed, she says.

Her way of protecting the teenagers is by telling them not to ever take up

the cigarette habit, no matter how much peer pressure they feel. But, in a

household of tobacco smoke, scientific experts say that's not nearly

protection enough.

Parents and grandparents who smoke often view it as an innocent activity

around their youngsters, who sometimes cough, wave their hands and plead

with their loved ones to stop smoking. Terry says her 14-year-old tells

her of what she has learned at school about the dangers of tobacco. But,

children's complaints are often to no avail as they are scolded for

speaking up to adults.

What some children may be trying to communicate is what the American Lung

Association has reported:

-Secondhand smoke exposure causes disease and premature death in children

and adults who do not smoke.

-Secondhand smoke, especially harmful to young children, is responsible

for between 150,000 and 300,000 lower respiratory tract infections in

infants and children under 18 months of age, resulting in between 7,500

and 15,000 hospitalizations each year, and causes 1,900 to 2,700 sudden

infant death syndrome deaths in the United States annually.

-Secondhand smoke exposure may cause buildup of fluid in the middle ear,

resulting in 700,000 to 1.6 million visits to the doctor per year.

-In America, 21 million, or 35 percent of children live in homes where

people smoke on a regular basis. Approximately 50 to 75 percent of

children in the United States have detectable levels of cotinine, the

breakdown product of nicotine in the blood.

-Secondhand smoke causes approximately 3,400 lung cancer deaths and

22,700-69,600 heart disease deaths in adult nonsmokers in the United

States each year.

-A Surgeon General's Report has concluded that there is no risk-free level

of exposure to second hand smoke.

''The debate is over. The science is clear: secondhand smoke is not a mere

annoyance, but a serious health hazard that causes premature death and

disease in children and nonsmoking adults,'' said U.S. Surgeon General

Carmona in prepared remarks before the release of a report on

secondhand smoke last year. ''Only smoke-free environments effectively

protect nonsmokers from secondhand smoke exposure in indoor spaces.''

*

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