Over 80% of cigarette smoke is invisible, meaning that although you may not see the smoke filling the environment when you are smoking in your home or car, there are invisible dangers.
Cigarette smoke contains over 4,500 chemicals, many of which are irritants or toxins and more than 50 are known to cause cancer. Whenever you light up, second-hand smoke is produced. This is the smoke exhaled by you, plus the smoke created by the lit end of a cigarette. Because you can’t control or see second-hand smoke, you don’t know where it’s going.
Why does this affect you?
If you are a parent, you should pay particular attention to this new research. Children are particularly vulnerable to second-hand smoke as their lungs, airways and immune systems are less developed. Children exposed to second-hand smoke are at risk of bronchitis, pneumonia, asthma attacks, meningitis and ear infections and babies exposed to second-hand smoke are more at risk of cot death. Also, did you know that children who grow up in a smoking household are 90% more likely to become a smoker themselves? That means the only way to increase the change of your baby not starting smoking when they become older is to give up now.
What can I do?
Making your home and car smoke-free is the only way to protect your loved ones. Breathing in other people’s cigarette smoke can seriously harm health. It can increase the risk of getting lung cancer by 24% and getting heart disease by 25%. Not only are you damaging your health and those around you but you could also jeopardise the safety of your family by smoking in your home. Did you know that smoking is a major cause of fires in the home? Making your home and car smoke-free improves the health and safety of those you care about the most.
Want to quit? If you need help it’s available. And it’s free!
Order your free Smoke-free Kit today. The only way to completely protect others from the harms of cigarette smoke is to make your home and car smoke-free. The Smokefree Kit contains facts, tools and tips to help you on your way to a smokefree future.
To order your kit text TOXINS to 63818 or visit www.nhs.uk/smokefree. And congratulations from all of us at gurgle.com for taking the first step to having a smoke-free home!
