Outdoor smokers endanger children: breath contains toxic substances

Created: 09/25/2022, 10:00 am

By: Anna Katharina Kusters

Hardly anyone smokes in apartments these days.

But children of parents who regularly smoke outside are still at risk of becoming ill.

The message from the German Cancer Research Center is clear: Passive smoking harms children.

It doesn't matter whether parents or other acquaintances go out into the fresh air to smoke.

Because if they come back into the room a little later, they are still carrying a large part of the released harmful substances.

The children still come into contact with them and can become ill.

Outdoor smokers endanger children: breath contains toxic substances

Tobacco pollutants stick to clothing.

(Iconic image) © PanoramiC/IMAGO

According to estimates by the Federal Ministry of Health in 2018, 23.8 percent of all women and men over the age of 18 smoked in Germany.

The good news is that there has been a sharp decline in smoking among young people in particular.

While 27.5 percent of 12- to 17-year-olds smoked in 2001, in 2018 it was only 6.6 percent.

Over the years, the population seems to have become more aware of the health risks associated with smoking.

It has been proven that children in particular suffer greatly from tobacco smoke as passive smokers.

Regular cigarette smoke can trigger diseases such as asthma or bronchitis in children's organs that are not yet fully developed, such as the lungs.

This is now also clear to many smoking parents, which is why they prefer to leave the apartment to smoke.

But according to the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), this is not enough as a preventive measure.

Outdoor smokers endanger children: Sidestream smoke contains more pollutants

Tobacco smoke contains around 4800 substances that can be potentially toxic.

250 of these substances have already been proven to be carcinogenic or toxic.

When it comes to smoking, the DKFZ distinguishes between:

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• Mainstream smoke: smoke that humans inhale directly when smoking

• Sidestream smoke: arises when the cigarette smolders during smoking breaks

Both smoke streams contain almost the same composition of pollutants.

With one decisive difference: the sidestream smoke contains some substances in ten times higher concentrations, since complete combustion does not occur.

In passive smoking, both the smoker's sidestream smoke and the smoker's exhaled mainstream smoke enter the non-smoker's lungs.

The same applies to children whose parents smoke.

Outdoor smokers endanger children: particles stick to skin, hair and clothing

If parents now go outside to smoke as a precaution so as not to endanger their child, they should consider that particles of tobacco smoke stick to hair, clothing and skin.

The parents inevitably carry them back into the apartment after smoking.

Since small children in particular often want to be held, they come into even greater contact with these remaining tobacco chemicals.

In addition, people still breathe out the tobacco particles 90 seconds after the last puff of a cigarette - a child who gets a kiss after the last cigarette inhales the tobacco substances directly.

To date, there have been no studies on the dangers of passive smoking in children.

In addition, there are still no long-term studies on how the long-term passive intake of tobacco substances affects the organism.

However, it is clear that tobacco smoke is particularly dangerous for children.

Because their organs are still developing and are therefore particularly sensitive to pollutants.

This article only contains general information on the respective health topic and is therefore not intended for self-diagnosis, treatment or medication.

In no way does it replace a visit to the doctor.

Unfortunately, our editors are not allowed to answer individual questions about clinical pictures.