what are the affects of second-hand smoke on a 2 year old?

Answer 1

There are many problems children can develop from second hand smoke starting in the womb. Children whose mothers smoked while pregnant were one-and-a-half times more likely to develop asthma early in life than children whose mothers did not smoke while pregnant.

“We suspect that when a pregnant woman smokes, the tobacco might affect her fetus’ DNA in the mitochondria, and if it is a girl, her future reproductive cells as well,” Gilliland said. “We speculate that the damage that occurs affects the child’s immune system and increases her susceptibility to asthma, which is then passed down to her children.”

“These findings are consistent with previous studies showing that in utero exposure to maternal smoking increases asthma risk and adversely affects postnatal lung function,” said Kenneth Olden, director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

Researchers suggest that when a pregnant woman smokes, chemicals from the tobacco may biologically damage her fetus. They hypothesize that smoke can affect the child in two ways: First, if the child is a girl, her eggs may be affected, which will in turn put her future children at risk; and second, the fetus’ mitochondria may be damaged through subtle changes in which genes are turned on or off – changes that may be transmitted through the maternal line as well.

The scientists speculate that these alterations decrease immune function and reduce the body’s ability to rid itself of toxins, thereby increasing their risk of asthma in smokers’ children and grandchildren. They also note that further studies are needed to confirm their results and investigate the issue more deeply.

Children of Smokers Blood Vessels Damaged: To measure oxidation injury, the Austrian researchers examined levels of a biological compound called 8-epi-PGF2alpha in the blood and urine of 158 children (71 boys, 87 girls) ages 3 to 15. The compound is formed when free radicals attack arachidonic acid, a chemical whose normal function includes blood vessel dilation, blood clot prevention and inflammation reaction. The children of smokers had a 50% increase.
Smokers take in poisons such as nicotine and carbon monoxide (the same gas that comes out of a car's exhaust pipe). These poisons get into the placenta, which is the tissue that connects the mother and the baby before it is born. These poisons keep the unborn baby from getting the food and oxygen needed to grow. As a result babies of smokers are often smaller.
underweight babies are "often sick with lots of health problems. Smaller babies are more likely to need special care and stay longer in the hospital. Some may die either at birth or within the first year." According to the March of Dimes, other problems associated with smoking during pregnancy include miscarriages, still births, and premature birth
Some of the effects of smoking while pregnant may not be apparent at birth, but are seen as the child starts to develop. Smoking during pregnancy may be a cause of sudden infant death syndrome (crib death), a condition in which apparently healthy babies die suddenly while sleeping
Also children may have learning difficulties and behavioral
problems.

Answer 2

That's horrible. It's called child abuse. I knew a girl that would get her 2 year old son high. It just put me in tears knowing that a mother could do such a thing! If you absolutely have to smoke weed, go in another room. Your child is an innocent being. And child services will NOT allow that, and most likely take the boy into custody.

Answer 3

It's sad that you would have to ask this. :( Whoever is smoking around the two year old needs to stop right NOW. Not only can it make him/her have MAJOR ear problems (I know from experience, my mom was a smoker) but it can also cause allergies and asthma to develop. It's dangerous, and gross and definitely shouldn't be happening.

Answer 4

lets see, heart related problems, breathing issues, might have to one day require an oxygen tank, lung disease, kidney disease, asthma, emphazema, bronchitis..Second hand smoke is BAD for anyone, its not filtered like the regular cigarettes are. Keep your child away from it!!!

Answer 5

if ur smoking when u have a newborn baby it will die

but a 2 year old it could get sick or possibly die

Answer 6

Asthema & SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) in the short run. Stunted growth, weak constitution (overall health), weakened lungs, weakened immune system, cancer & early death in the long run. Bottom line: everybody is better off without cigarette smoke.

Answer 7

It can make him or her sick, they can get asthma, and other things. Nobody should ever smoke around a child.

Answer 8

Don't smoke near children please.Your question implies that someone is.This should be a punishable offence.

Answer 9

She could develop asthma. She will develop colds and get sick more often. She will be exposed to a known cancer causing agent.

Answer 10

------------- The Largest study on Second Hand Smoke ever done by Enstrom
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/326/7398/1057
“No significant associations were found for current or former exposure to environmental tobacco smoke before or after adjusting for seven confounders and before or after excluding participants with pre-existing disease. No significant associations were found during the shorter follow up periods of 1960-5, 1966-72, 1973-85, and 1973-98.”

“Enstrom has defended the accuracy of his study against what he terms ‘illegitimate criticism by those who have attempted to suppress and discredit it.’". (Wikipedia)
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2164936/?tool=pmcentrez

------ Court rules that environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) is NOT a Class A carcinogen
http://www.tobacco.org/Documents/980717osteen.html
“There is evidence in the record supporting the accusation that EPA ‘cherry picked’ its data” … “EPA's excluding nearly half of the available studies directly conflicts with EPA's purported purpose for analyzing the epidemiological studies and conflicts with EPA's Risk Assessment Guidelines” (p. 72)

-------- OSHA will NOT regulate something that’s NOT hazardous
http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=INTERPRETATIONS&p_id=24602
“Air contaminants, limits employee exposure to several of the main chemical components found in tobacco smoke. In normal situations, exposures would not exceed these permissible exposure limits (PELs), and, as a matter of prosecutorial discretion, OSHA will not apply the General Duty Clause to ETS.”

Study about health & Smoking Bans – The National Bureau of Economic Research
http://www.nber.org/papers/w14790
“Workplace bans are not associated with statistically significant short-term declines in mortality or hospital admissions for myocardial infarction or other diseases.”

Showtime television, "How the EPA, CDC, Lung Association, and etc." support their claims.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGApkbcaZK4

-------- PURPOSELY misleading the public with MEDIA STRATEGIES -------
The Interagency Committee on Smoking and Health was enacted by Congress in 1984 which is a collection of Health and Human Services, American Heart and Lung Association, National Cancer Institute, World Health Organization, CDC and many other government funded health organizations. (eliminating any independent sources of information).

Below are direct quotes from those meeting notes:
“Social (Un)acceptability of smoking will be decisive TOOL an the road to a smoke-free society.” Using “four mechanisms: - passive smoking, - social cost, - ELIMINATE ALL INFLUENCES in society which could reflect favorably on smoking, - educational campaigns for children (App.II) “

“although passive smokers may suffer considerable subjective discomfort, a lasting adverse health effect is probably not likely to result in otherwise healthy, grown-up individuals . “

““Lindahl concluded that it is difficult to demonstrate harmful effects of passive smoking on healthy nonsmokers ; there is little proven in this area”

“He admitted that he couldn't explain how or why smoking harmed the fetus but suggested that, instead of worrying about such fine points, women be told that all unborn children of smoking women will be hurt “

“We're moving out of the horse and cart era, we're not yet in the jet age of MEDIA STRATEGIES, but we're getting there “

Review of Notes and all contents: http://rampant-antismoking.com/
Actual meeting notes: http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/efp57a00/pdf

Then the US Surgeon General went over all the studies to date in 2006 again and even though he went on public TV and announced "No safe level", the report itself showed exactly the opposite.
---The evidence is … not sufficient to infer a causal relationship between exposure to secondhand smoke and an increased risk of stroke. (p. 13)
---The evidence is … not sufficient to infer a causal relationship between secondhand smoke exposure from parental smoking and the onset of childhood asthma.(p. 13)
---The evidence is inadequate to infer the presence ... of a causal relationship between exposure to secondhand smoke during infancy and childhood cancer.(p. 11)

http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/reports/secondhandsmoke/executivesummary.pdf