Protect your child from smoking
Apr 11, 2008
LIVERPOOL'S Alder Hey Hospital in the UK, says up to a third of the children it treats for various conditions are ill because their parents smoke in their presence.
By Ambrose Akodrama
LIVERPOOL'S Alder Hey Hospital in the UK, says up to a third of the children it treats for various conditions are ill because their parents smoke in their presence. Dr Steve Ryan, the Medical Director, says bronchitis, chest infections, asthma and ear infections could be cut if parents quit smoking.
The British Lung Foundation says 17,000 under-fives are treated every year for exposure to second-hand smoke. BBC quoted him as saying out of the 35,000 children the hospital treats every year, 2,000 are due to their parents’ smoke.
Research published in 2005 suggested children exposed to their parents’ smoking were three times more likely to develop lung cancer later in life.
In Uganda, we don’t have such statistics but smoking parents do the same to their children.
Smoking parents usually do it indoors, in cars and other places, where children are ‘trapped’ and exposed to a ‘high intensity’ of fumes.
Dr Sheila Ndyanabangi, the co-ordinator of anti-tobacco activities in Uganda, insists that smokers have a responsibility to protect the non-smokers. Non-smokers should never fear to remind them of that. Government policy is that smoking should be discouraged and that non-smokers should be protected from second hand smoking as in cases of unborn babies.
Ndyanabangi said the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, to which Uganda is a signatory, demands protection of non-smokers from exposure in public places.
Tip for smoking parents
Don’t smoke when your children are there
Always put on other clothes when smoking because smoke on the clothes is also a risk.
Remember kids want to emulate your habits. Don’t transfer the risk.
You can reduce the tobacco risks by reducing the rate of smoking, having a proper diet and exercise.
Resolve to stop smoking, reduce the number of cigarettes per day, avoid the company of smokers and chew gum when the urge rises.
Read articles and books about how to quit smoking.
LIVERPOOL'S Alder Hey Hospital in the UK, says up to a third of the children it treats for various conditions are ill because their parents smoke in their presence. Dr Steve Ryan, the Medical Director, says bronchitis, chest infections, asthma and ear infections could be cut if parents quit smoking.
The British Lung Foundation says 17,000 under-fives are treated every year for exposure to second-hand smoke. BBC quoted him as saying out of the 35,000 children the hospital treats every year, 2,000 are due to their parents’ smoke.
Research published in 2005 suggested children exposed to their parents’ smoking were three times more likely to develop lung cancer later in life.
In Uganda, we don’t have such statistics but smoking parents do the same to their children.
Smoking parents usually do it indoors, in cars and other places, where children are ‘trapped’ and exposed to a ‘high intensity’ of fumes.
Dr Sheila Ndyanabangi, the co-ordinator of anti-tobacco activities in Uganda, insists that smokers have a responsibility to protect the non-smokers. Non-smokers should never fear to remind them of that. Government policy is that smoking should be discouraged and that non-smokers should be protected from second hand smoking as in cases of unborn babies.
Ndyanabangi said the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, to which Uganda is a signatory, demands protection of non-smokers from exposure in public places.
Tip for smoking parents