Making Your Home Smoke-Free

   
How second- and third-hand smoke effects kids and adults, and how you can make your home smoke-free
    

A new year can be a time for a new beginning. There are many reasons to make a fresh start with a smoke-free home. This year the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development passed a rule to protect children and adults in public housing from the harmful effects of second-hand smoke, requiring they be smoke-free by mid-2018, but no matter where you live, a smoke-free home is a healthier home.

Making your home smoke-free protects you and your family from second-hand and third-hand smoke.

Here are some facts about the effects of smoking on the people you live with:

  • Second-hand smoke is made up of smoke from the burning end of a cigarette and the smoke breathed out by smokers. It contains more than 7,000 chemicals. Hundreds of these chemicals are toxic and nearly 70 are known to cause cancer.
       
  • In children, second-hand smoke can cause more frequent and severe asthma attacks, respiratory infections, ear infections, and sudden infant death syndrome.
       
  • In adults, second-hand smoke can cause diseases including heart disease, stroke, and lung cancer.
       
  • There is no safe level of exposure to second-hand smoke.
       
  • Even if no one is actively smoking in the house, smoke still has negative health effects. Third-hand smoke is the residue from smoking that clings to indoor surfaces even after smoking occurs. This residue mixes with dust and chemicals and becomes toxic.
       
  • Third-hand smoke contains many toxic chemicals that are also in second-hand and first-hand smoke.
       
  • Young children crawling on carpets and putting toys and other items in their mouths are at greatest risk of exposure to third-hand smoke, according to research.

   
Here are some actions you can take to protect yourself and your family:

  • Do not allow smoking in your home. Opening windows or using air filters does not eliminate exposure to second-hand smoke.
       
  • Do not allow smoking in your car.
       
  • Make sure your child’s day care, babysitter’s home, and schools are smoke-free.
       
  • Get help with quitting smoking. Medications and counseling can increase your chances of quitting successfully. Most insurance plans cover FDA-approved medications that can help you quit. Ask your doctor about what medications might work for you. Free counseling is available from the NY State Smokers’ Quitline at 1-866-NY-QUITS (697-8487).

  
Resources

 
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Put Down the Cigarette and Spend Time with Your Kids