There are few smokers who, even in the presence of their own children, light a cigarette. However, even if parents smoke on the balcony, they, according to experts, endanger the health of their children.
Smoking on the balcony also endangers other people.
Tobacco use threatens not only one's own health, but also the health of others. According to a previous international survey by the World Health Organization (WHO), second-hand smoke kills 600,000 people annually.
Studies have shown that second-hand smoke causes heart disease, strokes, asthma and lung cancer. And even if smokers go outside to smoke, they put their children at risk.
Smoke in hair and clothes
Most smoking parents know that smoke is dangerous for their children. In apartments, therefore, parents try to smoke little at home. Many parents reported that they smoke "only" on the balcony or in front of the door.
Some smokers think that smoke is not harmful to children. Despite the fact that parents smoke only on the street, their children experience asthma or bronchitis much more often than non-smokers.
According to the German Cancer Research Center: "Children of smoking parents are more likely to suffer from acute and chronic respiratory diseases." In children of smokers, cough, sputum and shortness of breath are more common.
But cigarette smoke contains such a high concentration of fine dust particles that "exposure to small amounts can affect the body."
Unhealthy substances get into the apartment
Who smokes on the street carries nicotine, carcinogens, inhaled particles and other toxic substances into the apartment. Tobacco smoke contains more than 4000 chemicals, of which at least 200 are harmful to humans.
According to DKFZ, the components of tobacco smoke not only come out of hair and clothes, but also from hands to air. Smokers exhaled smoke particles for 90 seconds after the last puff. All this leads to the fact that the remains of tobacco smoke are found even in apartments where no one has ever lit a cigarette.
Children are especially vulnerable
Smoking is a major risk factor for lung disease in children. Even in smoker's families, where smoking is only on the street, children often suffer from diseases. According to pediatricians, in the homes of such households, for example, the level of nicotine in house dust rises.
According to cancer researcher Schaller, infants and toddlers are primarily affected by the smoke introduced. There is also a risk, as young children take everything in their mouth and suck.
Relatively little is known about the long-term effects of this release of pollutants. However, according to the Federal Center for Health Education, children are, in principle, particularly sensitive to toxins.
Better not to smoke
If parents smoke on the street, it is best to use a jacket and cap, which are then removed. Doctors advise parents to “completely abstain from smoking so as not to harm their children.”
Since there is no threshold for exposure to second-hand smoke on the body, below which there is no danger, any exposure is associated with danger. To prevent harm to children, it is recommended to completely stop smoking.
Does smoking on the balcony increase the risk of developing fetal tobacco syndrome?
If the embryo or fetus is exposed to nicotine and other toxins in tobacco smoke, the risk of birth defects increases. In exceptional cases, these injuries can even lead to premature birth or miscarriage.
In 1957, the first study was published showing weight loss at birth in smoking mothers. In the following decades, around 10,000 other medical publications appeared describing the relationship between secondhand smoke and fetal growth.
Recent studies also show a link between tobacco use during pregnancy and obesity.
Smoking is also one of the causes of prematurity and miscarriage, perinatal mortality and sudden infant death syndrome.
For safety reasons, all parents are advised to stop smoking. Nicotine harms not only the child, but also the parents.
