Lessening Secondhand Smoke on Children Research Paper - 4

Lessening Secondhand Smoke on Children - Research Paper Example The truth of the matter is, when both an active and passive smoker inhale the tobacco smoke, they are exposed to the same chemicals and toxins, nicotine included. As opposed to adults who have the freedom and resources to choose smoke-free environments to live in, children are the most vulnerable group as pertains to secondhand smoke exposure. Children of smoking parents are exposed to second hand smoke at home and in the car when travelling with parents. Some parents actually smoke in the car when taking their children to school or when picking them up from school. To make the matters worse, some teachers smoke in schools and therefore broadening the cycle of exposure to children further. When such children move on the streets where people smoke in public, exposure is even worse. Considering the cycle of secondhand smoke exposure to young children, measures should be put in place to protect these vulnerable groups. Secondhand smoke as it is has far-reaching detrimental effects on the human body. These health problems and disease are caused by about sixty-nine different chemicals and toxins. Nicotine that is present in tobacco has been shown to cause addiction and physical dependence on tobacco products. Some of the harmful effects in the body include; cardiovascular diseases, chronic bronchitis, asthma, lung cancer, reduced healing processes and low birth weight in pregnant women. The misguided perception that smoking is cool sand modern has resulted in an increase in active tobacco smokers. This is even further fueled by the advertisement placed in the media by the tobacco processing companies. Active smokers being the source of secondhand smoke, if their numbers increase, the amount of secondhand smoke increases. On the other hand, the public is increasingly becoming informed on the health hazards of tobacco smoking. As a result, there has been a public outcry