Secondhand smoke may present severe health problems for children

Children living with parents who smoke notice higher risks of having high blood pressure as a child, new studies show.

As health problems like blood pressure typically amount with time, experts stress the importance of avoiding blood pressure as a child if at all possible.

Many diseases that are prevalent in adults, like heart attacks and strokes, usually begin developing during childhood. Removing known environmental factors like the exposure to secondhand smoke would help to significantly reduce the risks of developing diseases or high blood pressure as an adult.

Not only is smoking detrimental to the health of the smoker, but some experts explain the secondhand effects to be even worse, meaning the smoker is causing more harm to loved ones than to themselves by smoking.

According to the American Cancer Society, more than 45,000 non-smoking Americans die each year from heart disease from living with a smoker and being exposed to the secondhand smoke.

Another finding researchers noted was that secondhand smoke is dangerous to children’s lungs as well.

While secondhand smoke is harmful to everybody, the effects are magnified for infants and children. Protecting children from secondhand smoke exposure is vital to decrease risks of long-term health problems.