“There is no safe level of exposure to cigarette smoke”
Regina Benjamin, US Surgeon General, USA, 2010.
Within minutes of breathing in second-hand smoke, carbon monoxide decreases the oxygen supply to your heart and the platelets in your blood become stickier, predisposing you to clots, stroke and heart attacks. Children and infants whose parents smoke have a massively higher risk of sudden infant death syndrome, ear infections, pneumonia, bronchitis and asthma. The levels of deadly particulates where people smoke at tables outside bars and cafes (with their babies sitting in strollers nearby) are up to 35 times greater than during rush-hour traffic.
“Smoking parents frequently underestimate the danger their habit is doing to their children. It’s almost as if people are in denial. They absolutely would not do something dangerous like leaving their child in the middle of the road but somehow smoking in front of them is fine”
Helena Shovelton, Chief Executive, UK British Lung Foundation.
Worldwide, second-hand smoking exposure kills 600,000 innocent non-smokers every year. They die horrible painful deaths, suffering cardiovascular, coronary heart disease, lung cancer, breast cancer, lower respiratory disease and asthma. The US Surgeon General has estimated that about 60% of children are exposed to second-hand smoke. Children whose parents smoke are almost nine times as likely to be exposed to second-hand smoke as those in non-smoking families.
“Exposure to passive smoke in childhood causes direct and irreversible damage to the structure of the arteries”
Dr Seana Gall, University of Tasmania, Australia, March 2014.
Second-hand smoke exposure damages everyone
Even five minutes’ exposure to second-hand smoke caused dysfunction in the lining of the aorta, the main vessel feeding blood to the body. This leads to heart disease. A non-smoker who lives with a smoker has 33% of the disease risk of the smoker, even though they are actually exposed to only 1% of the smoke. Second-hand smoking damages the veins in exposed children and can show emerging signs of atherosclerosis.
“It’s well known that smoking kills, but many smokers still don’t realise the damage their smoke causes to those around them. More than 300,000 British people see their doctor each year because of second-hand smoke”
Professor Dame Sally Davies, Chief Medical Officer, UK, June 2013.
GOLDEN Rule 1: Be Prepared and Control your Environment
GOLDEN Rule 4: Give up what Weakens You
GOLDEN Rule 6: Do not Smoke and Avoid all Smoky Environments
GOLDEN Rule 6: Do not Smoke and Avoid all Smoky Environments
Smoking is not a right, it is child abuse, addiction and slavery
Jason wishes to deeply thank, acknowledge and recognise the effort and contribution that the PIF Foundation has provided on a voluntary basis since 2014, as we educated, motivated and inspired change that helps transform the health, vitality and longevity of people all over the world.
