During the periods of development from conception to birth are the most important and the most delicate periods in a child’s life to receive the best possible care and protection. Having a mother or father that exposes their child to cigarette smoke is one of the teratogens that the parents can control.
The reason that I was interested in this particular subject is because my son Larry, Jr. was born 6 weeks premature, weighing 3 lbs., and 7 ounces. While pregnant with my three children I did smoke with all three and Larry was the only one that was under weight, I always wondered if I had any effect on my child’s birth weight.
“The effect of maternal smoking during pregnancy on children’s birth weight has been recognizes since 1957, the first report concerning the adverse effects of environmental tobacco smoke on children’s health was published in 1967”. “Since that time, 150 studies of the effects of environmental on respiratory illness in children alone have been published. “A similarly large, general newer body of work clearly links both prenatal maternal smoking and the environmental tobacco smoke exposure to ear infections, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), behavioral problems, and neurocognitive deficits” (Simpson, 1957).
“Aligne and Stoddard estimated the annual excess in deaths in children younger than 5 years as a result of tobacco smoke exposure at close to 6000, exceeding deaths as a result of all injuries combined”. “Children’s exposure to tobacco constituents during fetal development and via environmental tobacco smoke exposure during childhood is perhaps the most ubiquitous and hazardous of children’s environmental exposures” (Aligne, 1997).
“The negative consequences of maternal prenatal smoking on infant pren...
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...uences placental and fetal development, reduces birth weight, and affects lung and brain development”. “A low birth weight is associated with an increase in the incidence of coronary heart disease, stroke, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, mellitus, insulin resistance, serum lipids, and premature pubrache” ( Arch Dis Child, 2003).
“Furthermore, prenatal passive smoking is thought to be a risk factor for a variety of neurodevelopmental and behavioral problems, such as reduced intellectual ability and attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder” (Arch Dis Child, 2003).
Children do not have a say in adults smoking around them, or even before they are born. Adults should take the initiatives to ensure that the children have every opportunity to grow up in the absolute best environment that is available to them, so that their development progress at a normal stages.
Works Cited:.. Action on Smoking and Health. 4 Oct. 2003 http://www.ash.org.uk/html/factsheets/html/fact02.html American Lung Association. “Smoking and Pregnancy.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a mother’s prenatal smoking can lead to premature birth, birth defects, and infant death. The CDC states that women who smoke are more likely to have miscarriages and premature births. Babies born to mothers who smoke are more likely to have low birth weight and have an increased risk of being born with a cleft lip or cleft palette. Babies of smoking m...
Thank you for smoking, it’s what big companies like Marlboro and Camel want to let us know, and keep smoking. Tobacco has been around for thousands of years, but today’s cigarettes contain many harmful and poisonous toxins. Yet, its simple: Tobacco smoking kills, reduces economic productivity, and strengthens poverty. But lets be frank, everyone’s aware of these issues already, everyone’s out to get cigarette companies; however, there’s a bigger problem. What happens when cigarette companies target today’s children?
Tobacco use during pregnancy is another environmental influence. The nicotine, carbon monoxide, and many other harmful chemicals mixed together in cigarettes are very harmful to the mother and especially the unborn child. This can cut off the baby’s oxygen supply, increase the risk of
Encyclopaedia of Children’s (2013) stated that smoking is a form of inhalation of smoking from different forms of tobacco which include cigarettes, pipes, and cigars. Cancer Research (2012) and the World Health Organisation (2013) have confirmed that most tobacco products contain very high level of nicotine which can have additive effect and are made from tobacco leaf which are s...
There are many factors that are integrated into the successful development of a child from Prenatal growth into toddlerhood. Teratogens (outside factors) have a great impact on the babies’ inutero development. Some outside factors like second-hand smoke, smog, or fumes from cleaning chemicals can cause negative effects on the child inside the womb. A few major affects from teratogens could result in low birth weight, head circumference, slow physical growth as well as an effect on mental, behavioral and motor skills (Berk, 2003). The environment around the mother provides many of these outside factors affecting the baby’s growth. But the main link to teratogens during the gestation period is most likely the mother. Daniel S. Messinger and the National Institute on Drug Abuse found that 2.8% of pregnant women admitted to using illicit drugs during their pregnancy (1996). Through illicit drug use, tobacco use and alcohol use, the mother disrupts her baby’s growth with possibly permanent damage.
Through public education, most elementary school kids can understand that smoking is bad for them and that cigarettes are additive. Cigarettes are addictive due to nicotine, a drug found in tobacco (“Quitting Smoking”, 2015). According to Schneider (2016), some of the greatest health problems associated with smoking include: lung cancer, other cancers, coronary heart disease, other heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, other vascular disease, diabetes mellitus, pneumonia, influenza, tuberculosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), prenatal conditions, and sudden infant death syndrome. As stated by the Authority of the American Lung Association in an article titled “Health
Every year cigarette smoking is responsible for 500,000 premature deaths (Nugel), you do not want to be just another statistic, do you? America’s first cash crop was tobacco. That means that tobacco has been around for a really long time. It was not until 1865, though, that cigarettes were sold commercially. They were sold to soldiers at the end of the Civil War (Dowshen). From then, cigarettes spread like wildfire, and it was not until 1964 that anyone made a stand about the negative effects of tobacco and cigarettes. People start smoking for all different reasons, some to fit in and some to “escape”. Regardless, it is a horrible habit. 3900 children will try their first cigarette today. Amongst adults who currently smoke, 68% of them began at age 18 or younger, and 85% at 21 or younger (American Lung Association). And of all those people, 70% say if they were given another chance they would never have picked up that first cigarette (Tobacco Free Maine). Smoking is responsible for 1 and 5 deaths in the united states, and is the number one preventable cause of death (NLH). Smoking burns and there is no doubt about that, but before one picks up that cigarette, understand the negative effects on not only oneself, but others affected by ones poor choices, like second-hand smoke. Because of smoking cigarettes, many types of cancer, decrease of life quality, and negative health effects have become all too common in the world today.
During a pregnancy there are many choices to be made and smoking should not be one of them. Smoking while pregnant can cause major effects before the birth of the child and also in the child’s future. Here are a few effects before the actual birth of the child: 1) Cigarettes contains a large number of chemicals that harm unborn babies. 2) Smoking raises the levels of carbon monoxide in your bloodstream. This gives less oxygen for baby. 3) Nicotine tightens the blood vessels, meaning the oxygen is passed over less effectively to the baby 4) Miscarriage or stillborn.
The first reason why we have to increase the age limit of smoking cigarette is based on the responsibility that one can take. Responsibility can be defined as the state of being responsible for what we are doing, and it is believed any person above the age of 18 is responsible for everything he does. When we come to our topic almost all states set the age of smoking cigarette 18 which is a wrong judgment. Most people give support to this age limit because they believe any person above the age of 18 is considered as an adult and since 18 year old can vote and go to a war, there is no reason to restrict their freedom of choice that includes smoking of a cigarette, but w...
Wisborg, K., Kesmodel, U., Tine, B. H., Sjurdur, F. O., & Secher, N. J. (2000). A prospective study of smoking during pregnancy and SIDS. Archives of Disease in Childhood, 83(3), 203-6. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/196895386?accountid=41057
...just being around a person that does can cause harm to a mother’s fetus. Women need to know that smoking can cause miscarriages, premature birth, and other damage to a baby. Before women that smoke decide to make the decision of getting pregnant, they should research all the harmful effects that smoking has on a fetus. If pregnant smokers were to halt tobacco use a total of 986 infant deaths would be averted annually. This validates the need for infusion of more resources into existing smoking cessation campaigns in order to achieve higher quit rates, and substantially diminish current levels of smoking-associated infant deaths (Salihu, Aliyu, Pierre-Louis, & Alexander, 2003). The only way a woman can avoid pregnancy complications associated with smoking is to quit and she should also avoid others who smoke in order to avoid the dangers of second hand smoke.
In recent years, smoking has started to take over the lives of many teenagers. The number of teenagers smoking has increased dramatically in the last several years. This is a major problem because smoking can lead to sickness and major diseases that can lead to death. Teens tend to participate in this while out of the presence of an adult figure. Although teens should not be smoking in the first place, an adult figure should be around to help insure that their children are doing the right things, even when they are behind sealed doors with their peers. Teenagers as they mature become a model for younger children and when they set the example of smoking can ruin their respectable image to the children that look up to them.
“Dangers of Smoking Cigarettes for Smokers” healthliteracy.worlded.org. Copyright 1995 by Marjorie Jacobs revised 1997, n.d web 14 April 2011
Scientists and health officials have been arguing the detrimental effects smoking has on our health for many years. Smoking can lead to serious complications including asthma, pancreas, lung and stomach cancer due to the large number of carcinogens (cancer causing chemicals) and other various substances added to it. It is a health hazard for both smokers and non-smokers and it is especially harmful to unborn babies. Although smokers claim that it helps them to relax and release stress, the negative aspects of the habit take over the positive. As it has been stressed by the scientists and experts, there are some very severe reasons of smoking but its crucial consequences should also be taken into consideration.