Secondhand smoke is more toxic than PM2.5, and young children suffer from asthma and decreased intelligence

Don’t think that smoking outside will not harm your family’s health. Studies have shown that secondhand smoke is even more terrible than PM2.5! So what harm does smoking do to babies? What is the impact on intelligence?

The harm of smoking to babies

Xue Guangjie, the doctor who treated the case and director of the Smoking Cessation Treatment Management Center, said that secondhand smoke refers to smokers smoking in the same space as non-smokers; thirdhand smoke is the release of potential toxins after tobacco products burn, which attach to various items such as hair, carpets, curtains, clothing, furniture, etc. Although the smell of smoke will eventually dissipate, these toxins will remain on the items for up to three months.

Many smokers think that once the smell of cigarettes is gone, it will not harm their health! Dr. Xue Guangjie said that because the tar in cigarettes is an oily substance, it is easy to adhere to objects, and the third-hand smoke toxins are smaller than PM2.5, only PM1, and are easily absorbed from the skin. Even if you remove the smell of cigarettes, turn on the air purifier, and wash clothes, it is not effective in removing the toxins.

In addition, if third-hand smoke poison is attached to parent-child carriers, safety seats and pacifiers, these items are hidden harm to babies because these items are in close contact with babies and can be easily swallowed by babies! European and American countries have even explicitly prohibited adults from smoking in vehicles with infants and young children to prevent smoke damage.

The impact of smoking on baby's intelligence

According to a study conducted in the United States between 1988 and 1994, children who grow up in a third-hand smoke environment are not only more likely to have respiratory diseases (such as asthma and allergies), but their intellectual development is also affected, making their cognition, reading ability, spatial sense, and mathematical concepts 20% lower than those of children of the same age who do not have smokers at home. Doctors say that this is why parents often ask why their children's IQ is fine, but one of the culprits is that they can't read well.

Dr. Li Ruli said that the most fundamental reason to eliminate third-hand smoke is to eliminate first-hand smoke! The doctor also said that quitting smoking is not difficult. There are currently two types of smoking cessation aids, namely "nicotine replacement drugs" and "non-nicotine drugs". Nicotine drugs can maintain the nicotine concentration in the human blood when quitting smoking, but there are fewer carcinogens, and the safety is relatively improved. Currently, there are nicotine patches, chewable tablets, and oral tablets. Clinical statistics show that if the patch and chewable tablets are used together for more than 14 weeks, the success rate is as high as 36.5%.

Artist Yang Mingwei became a father in August this year. He was addicted to smoking for 7 years. He said that he used to smoke a pack a day and relied on willpower to quit smoking, but started smoking again after 4 months. It was not until his wife Fang Zhiyou became pregnant that he quit smoking because he thought that his daughter's lungs might "turn black" in the future. He has successfully quit smoking for more than a year!

How to quit smoking effectively

Eliminate tension: A tense working situation will make you want to smoke. So, from now on, take away the smoking utensils around you, change the working environment and working procedures. Instead, put some sugar-free chewing gum, fruits, juice and mineral water, take more short breaks, and exercise outdoors for a few minutes.

Throw away smoking paraphernalia, such as lighters, ashtrays, and cigarettes to reduce your "conditioned reflexes". Drink water, eat fruit, or take a walk after meals to get rid of the idea of ​​a cigarette after meals. Drinking more juice in the early stages of quitting smoking can help you get rid of nicotine addiction.

Strengthen the awareness of quitting smoking: Clearly set the goal of changing the working environment and old habits related to smoking, and smokers who quit smoking will actively think of their determination to stop smoking. There should be such awareness that the sense of taste and smell will get better after a few days of quitting smoking.

Use smoking cessation tools to help you quit smoking. The proper use of smoking cessation tools can make your smoking cessation efforts more effective. For example, "alternative smoking cessation" products are very effective smoking cessation tools. As the name suggests, they replace nicotine in tobacco with non-tobacco forms, small doses of safe nicotine preparations, which not only allow you to "inhale" cigarettes, but also gradually reduce the onset of smoking addiction, and finally completely quit smoking.

Some former smokers have had good experiences quitting for fun, one of the effects of which was to quit publicly and enlist the support of friends and colleagues.

Attend fewer parties: When you first start to quit smoking, you should avoid the temptation of smoking. If a friend invites you to a very good party, but everyone at the party smokes, then at least you should politely refuse to attend such parties in the early stage until you feel that you are no longer addicted to smoking.