These three types of "smoke" are very harmful to children! Parents must read this, the danger is around you!

The harm of tobacco needs no elaboration. Many parents have done a good job in teaching their children not to smoke. But is it enough to just not smoke to keep children away from the harm of smoking? There is still a lot we need to do to eliminate the harm of tobacco.

The trend of "shooting cigarette cards" is spreading in primary schools. Small cigarette boxes are very harmful.

Recently, the cigarette card game has become popular in primary schools across the country. This game has a key prop - cigarette cards. Cigarette cards are made of cigarette boxes. Children fold the lids of cigarette boxes to make rectangular cards and place them on the ground to take turns to play.

However, "cigarette cards" pose health risks! Using "cigarette cards" as game props reflects children's curiosity and exploration of the adult world. Therefore, under the dual effects of the easily accessible environment and their own curiosity, children are at risk of smoking prematurely. In addition, tobacco substances are left on "cigarette cards", causing children to indirectly inhale "second-hand smoke", which has a certain impact on their health. Tests have found that cigarette boxes contain toxic substances, such as formaldehyde, xylene, etc. These toxic substances can cause great harm to human health.

In May, the Education Bureau of Tianshui City, Gansu Province issued the "Initiative on Prohibiting Students from Playing the "Cigarette Card" Game", which detailed the tangible and intangible hazards of the "Cigarette Card" game, and reminded parents not to actively provide "cigarette cards" to children, and not to let students bring "cigarette cards" into campus.

E-cigarettes are popular among teenagers, but they are not harmed

Currently, there are approximately 16,000 unique flavors available on the e-cigarette market, many of which are attractive to children. These flavors can mask the irritation of nicotine and play a role in a person's first attempt at using e-cigarettes. In 2021, the proportion of middle school students in my country who had heard of e-cigarettes was 86.6%, the proportion of those who had used e-cigarettes was 16.1%, and the proportion of those who were currently using e-cigarettes was 3.6%. Among them, the most commonly used e-cigarette flavor was fruit flavor (63.8%).

Currently, many long-term health effects of using e-cigarettes are still unknown, and there is increasing evidence that e-cigarettes are not harmless. E-cigarette aerosols usually contain known toxic substances such as ethylene glycol, aldehydes, volatile organic compounds, and heavy metals. E-cigarettes have risks such as device leakage and children swallowing e-liquid, and can also cause serious injuries such as burns due to fire and explosion.

Research evidence shows that e-cigarettes increase the risk of cardiovascular and lung diseases and can affect fetal development. E-cigarettes add a lot of fresh taste and cool appearance, which are more likely to attract teenagers who are looking for novelty. And studies have shown that using e-cigarettes may make people more likely to use cigarettes. Some people first come into contact with e-cigarettes, become nicotine dependent, and then become cigarette smokers. This phenomenon is particularly evident among teenagers. The World Health Organization has also made it clear that it does not recommend using e-cigarettes as an auxiliary tool for quitting smoking. Because most adults who use e-cigarettes to quit smoking do not stop smoking, but smoke e-cigarettes and cigarettes at the same time, there will be a superposition of health hazards caused by two or more tobacco products.

In addition to "second-hand smoke", we should also be alert to the harm of "third-hand smoke" to children

"Thirdhand smoke" refers to smoke pollutants that remain on surfaces such as clothes, walls, carpets, furniture, ashtrays, and even dust, hair, and skin after smokers smoke, which can cause harm to children. The ingredients of thirdhand smoke include hydrocyanic acid, butane, toluene, arsenic, lead, carbon monoxide, and more than a dozen highly carcinogenic compounds. Among them, nicotine reacts with nitrous acid in the environment to form powerful carcinogens, nitrosamines. "Thirdhand smoke" stays indoors for a very long time! They still exist 6 hours after the cigarette is extinguished. "Thirdhand smoke" pollution lasts longer than "first-hand smoke" and "second-hand smoke", and can last for at least 200 days indoors, and the cumulative effect of "thirdhand smoke" is also obvious. These residues may react with other pollutants in the room to form a toxic mixture, and the toxicity of the chemicals will increase over time.

The harm of "third-hand smoke" is often not known. The harmful substances left by burning tobacco can be absorbed through breathing and skin, which can be easily overlooked. Children in particular are in the growth and development period, whose resistance to harmful substances is much lower than that of adults. In addition, their weight is lighter than that of adults, so the same level of toxic substances is more harmful to children. In addition, when children crawl or play on the floor or carpet, they are more likely to come into close contact with harmful substances remaining in the environment, causing respiratory problems in infants and young children, and increasing the probability of acute bronchitis, asthma and other diseases. According to the BMC Public Health journal, children under the age of 5 who are frequently exposed to smoking environments have more than twice the normal risk of invasive meningitis.

Pregnant women spend more time indoors due to their special physical constitution. At the same time, factors such as increased breathing rate, changes in metabolic capacity, and changes in the immune system make them more sensitive to pollutants. Even low doses of "third-hand smoke" can cause long-term health hazards to pregnant women and their fetuses. What's worse, it can cause pregnancy complications, affect delivery, and cause insufficient fetal oxygen, making it impossible for the fetus to be born smoothly. At the same time, the mother may also pass on the "third-hand smoke" residue to the fetus. If too much "third-hand smoke" is inhaled during pregnancy, it may also affect the next pregnancy. Related surveys also found that long-term exposure to "third-hand smoke" during pregnancy increases the risk of postpartum depression by 71%.

"Third-hand smoke" is like a hidden "killer" hiding in our daily lives, endangering people's safety and health, but it is easily overlooked.

The best way to keep children away from the harm of tobacco is to eliminate all tobacco products, starting with every member of the family. Parents should set a good example and lead by example.