The Facts about Secondhand Smoke
What You Can Do!
Secondhand Smoke a.k.a. Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS)
Smoke-Free Homes
Take the Smoke-Free Pledge
Changing Health Behaviors
Resources to Get Started on Implementing a Smoke-Free Homes Program
Asthma Resources
Related Performance Standards
Head Start Collaboration Offices
The Facts about Secondhand Smoke
- Currently it is estimated that 22% of
children are exposed to secondhand smoke. Despite increased
awareness of the risks, children continue to show toxin levels
nearly twice those of adult non-smokers. This is true for many
reasons: children are still developing physically; they have
higher breathing rates than adults; and have little control over
their indoor environments.
- Children who receive high doses of
secondhand smoke, such as children whose mother smokes, run the
greatest risk of damaging health effects.
- Smoking around a pregnant woman can cause
her child to have low birth weight.
- It is estimated that exposure to
secondhand smoke kills 430 newborns from Sudden Infant Death
Syndrome (SIDS) each year.
- Exposure to secondhand smoke slows down
the growth of children's developing lungs.
- Children's exposure to secondhand smoke
is responsible for: (1) between 150,000 and 300,000 lower
respiratory tract infections for children under 18 months of age.
These infections account for 7,500-15,000 hospitalizations a year;
and, (2) an increase in the number of asthma attacks and severity
of symptoms in 200,000 to one million children with asthma.
- The only way to protect others from exposure to secondhand smoke is to eliminate smoking in indoor spaces. Separation, cleaning or ventilation cannot eliminate exposure!
What You Can Do!
- Do not allow smoking in your home or car.
- If you smoke, choose to smoke outside. Moving to another room or opening a window is not enough to protect your child.
Secondhand Smoke a.k.a. Environmental Tobacco Smoke
Secondhand smoke is a mixture of the smoke given off by the burning end of a cigarette, pipe, or cigar, and the smoke exhaled by smokers. It is also called environmental tobacco smoke (ETS). Exposure to ETS is sometimes called involuntary or passive smoking. Secondhand smoke contains more than 4,000 substances, several of which are known to cause cancer in humans or animals.
Secondhand smoke causes serious health risks
in children. Learn more about this and the science behind the risks.
http://www.epa.gov/smokefree/healtheffects.html#What%20is%20Secondhand%20Smoke
Smoking is the single greatest avoidable cause of disease and death. Learn what the Surgeon General says about involuntary exposure to tobacco smoke in the report, The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke: A Report of the Surgeon General.
http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/sgr/sgr_2006/index.htm
http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/secondhandsmoke
Flyer: How Secondhand Smoke Affects You and Your Child
Smoke-Free Homes
Smoke-Free Homes is a comprehensive, national effort to reduce children's secondhand smoke exposure focused on harm reduction and improving the health of children. To learn more about this, go to:
http://www.epa.gov/iaq/headstart
http://www.epa.gov/smokefree
Take the Smoke-Free Home Pledge/ Prometa no fumar en su hogar
The first step in protecting children’s health through reducing their exposure to environmental tobacco smoke is to take the Smoke-Free Pledge. The EPA has materials and information to support those who take the pledge (available in both English and Spanish).
http://www.epa.gov/smokefree/pledge/index.html
Learn more about what some communities are doing to support "Smoke-Free Homes."
Tips and tools
for “Promoting Smoke-Free Homes for Head Start
Families”
Changing Health Behaviors
These tips sheets offer guidance to Head Start families and staff to promote smoke-free environments for children.
Care for Their Air: For Families
Care for Their Air: For Family Service Workers
Care for Their Air: For Health Managers
Care for Their Air: For Health Service Advisory Committees
Care for Their Air: For Home Visitors
Care for Their Air: For Program Directors
Care for Their Air: For Teachers
Enhancing Health in the Head Start Workplace: Training Guides for
the Head Start Learning Community Module 3: Making Changes in
Behavior for Better Health
http://www.headstartinfo.org/publications/enhancing_health/module3.htm
Resources to Get Started on Implementing a Smoke-Free Homes Program
The EPA has developed tools and educational resources to get you started. Continue to make a positive change in children’s lives with these materials.
A one-stop resource for getting started is "The Smoke-Free Homes Community Action Kit" available on CD-ROM or online. The kit includes:
Steps for getting your program started
- Ideas for outreach activities
- Tips for promoting your program
- Resources available at no cost to your
program
- Contact and reference information
http://www.epa.gov/smokefree/pdfs/community_action_kit.pdf
Beyond the Brochure—Alternative Approaches to Effective Heath Communication
http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/nbccedp/bccpdfs/amcbeyon.pdf
Flyer: "I have taken the Pledge! Now what?"
Asthma Resources
Find out what the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends for your child's health with regard to asthma.
http://www.aap.org/healthtopics/asthma.cfm
Various tools and forms are available to: (1) assist in collecting an accurate asthma history based on symptoms both at home and at school; (2) facilitate communication between school personnel and pediatricians; (3) assist in providing parents and schools information about a child's medication program; and, (4) provide guidance as to what to do when a child's asthma worsens.
http://www.aap.org/schooledinasthma
http://www.headstartinfo.org/pdf/caring/caring.pdf
"Help Your Child Gain Control over Asthma" with a guide developed by the CDC and EPA to assist parents in controlling their child's asthma.
http://www.epa.gov/asthma/pdfs/ll_asthma_brochure.pdf
"Dusty the Asthma Goldfish" is designed for children a little older; but, could be useful for families with older children who have asthma.
English version http://www.epa.gov/asthma/pdfs/dustythegoldfish_en.pdf
Spanish version http://www.epa.gov/asthma/pdfs/dustythegoldfish_sp.pdf
"Clear Your Home of Asthma Triggers" using a check-list provided by the EPA on ways to remove dust mites, molds, pests and pet dander from the home.
http://www.epa.gov/asthma/pdfs/asthma_eng.trifold.pdf
Did you know that things in the bath, blankets, or stuffed animals can trigger an asthma attack? Learn what you can do to prevent asthma attacks.
http://www.noattacks.org
Get involved in the fight against asthma! Each year, in the month of May, EPA joins international, national and local Asthma Awareness Month activities to increase public understanding of asthma and environmental asthma triggers.
http://www.epa.gov/iaq/asthma/awm.html
Related Performance Standards
Family Partnerships
1304.40
http://www.eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/Program%20Design%
20and%20Management/Head%20Start%20Requirements/Head%20Start%20Requirements/1304#family
Community Partnership
1304.41(a)(2)
http://www.eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/Family%20and%20Community%20Partnerships/Family%
20and%20Community%20Partnerships/Community%20Partnerships/Partnerships-Collaborative%
20Relationships/famcom_pps_00103_072505.html
Health
1304.20(a)(1)(i) and 1304.20(b)(1)
http://www.eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/Program%20Design%
20and%20Management/Head%20Start%20Requirements/Head%20Start%20Requirements/1304#child
The Head Start State Collaboration Offices
The Head Start State Collaboration Offices play an important role in building partnerships at the state and local levels to ensure Head Start's participation in systems integration strategies. Head Start and Early Head Start staff, Head Start Training and Technical Assistance (T/TA) providers, early child care and education professionals, policymakers, as well as state and local organizations can benefit from the resources developed by and for the State Collaboration Offices. The Head Start State Collaboration Offices ensure the coordination of services to include: health care, welfare, child care, education, community service activities, family literacy, services to homeless families, and activities related to children with disabilities.
http://www.eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/hsd/State%20Collaboration%
20Offices%20Documents/statecollab_resa_051806.html
