Exposing Children To Cigarette Smoke Can Lead To Ear, Respiratory Infections—Health Experts

Some Nigerian psychologists have warned that exposure of under-aged children to an atmosphere of alcohol may cause mental health and respiratory issues.

Across Nigerian bars and beer joints, some parents have been exposing their children to their drinking and tobacco smoking habits.

In Abuja, several cases of parents smoking and drinking alcohol before their underaged kids have been reported.

The psychologists that spoke to THE WHISTLER revealed that the such actions have a twin effect on the children.

Adaorah Heavenly, an Abuja based psychologist said such exposure has a psychological effect on the children.

She said they are also exposed to secondhand smoke.

Secondhand smoke according to the Center for Disease Control
is the combination of smoke from the burning end of a cigarette and the smoke breathed out by smokers.

Secondhand smoke contains more than 7,000 chemicals. Hundreds are toxic and about 70 can cause cancer.

Since the 1964 Surgeon General’s Report, 2.5 million adults who were nonsmokers died because they breathed secondhand smoke.

Heavenly said, “Such activities around kids have a lot of negative effects on them, but we don’t know why some parents do it. Parents that are into such, need psychological help because they don’t know the effect of what they do.

“Yes, it contributes, even in the later future their father might not be smoking again, or dead but you will see the child smoking because most of these things have been stored in the child’s subconscious mind which is now part of what is building the child’s attitude and action.

“So it’s like a den in the subconscious mind, but with lots of either hypnotherapy or other therapy treatment they can be better. It’s still all about the mental health which people neglect and it gets out of hand.”

Peter Adebayo, an Abuja based health pediatrician classified the effects of secondhand smoke into Immediate, early and late.

Adebayo explained that secondhand smoking affects the respiratory hematological, circulatory/cardiovascular systems of the children who are being exposed.

He also stated that it could progress to impaired lung function or loss of sizable lung function.

Adebayo said, “In children with family history or individual history of atopy, this could predispose them to flare of either their hypersensitive airway diseases and or acute asthmatic attacks (if they are known asthmatics) while in some children, they may experience symptoms suggestive of ear disease, particularly the middle ear.

“Severe cases of inhalation of secondhand smoke could cause death. The above are factors that have been demonstrated in literature to be adverse effects of inhaling secondhand smoke in children.”