The Importance of Smoke-Free Outdoors

Parks & beaches are fun places for you, your friends, and your family to gather. But even when you are outside, breathing other people's tobacco smoke (secondhand smoke) can still make you or your children sick.

All tot lots and playgrounds in the state of California are required to be smoke-free by law. If you are in a place that allows smoking, teach your children to move away from people who are smoking. Ask friends and family members not to smoke around your children, even when outdoors.

GET THE FACTS:  Your Family and Secondhand Smoke

What is secondhand smoke?

• It is the smoke that comes from the burning end of a cigarette, pipe, or cigar.  It is also the smoke that is exhaled by a smoker.

Why is it harmful?

• Secondhand smoke causes breathing problems, lung cancer, and heart disease.
• In children, it can cause colds, coughs, and ear problems. 
• It makes asthma attacks worse and more frequent. 
• In babies, it can lead to sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
• It hurts your pets.  It can make them sick and hurts their lungs.

What can you do to protect your family?

• Do not allow smoking in your home or car.  Opening windows or using fans is not enough to protect your family! 
• If you smoke, make a plan to quit.

GET THE FACTS:  Tobacco

Health Effects of Cigarette Smoking

• Smoking harms nearly every organ of the body; causing many diseases and reducing the health of smokers in general.
• The adverse health effects from cigarette smoking account for an estimated 438,000 deaths, or nearly 1 of every 5 deaths, each year in the United States.
• More deaths are caused each year by tobacco use than by all deaths from HIV, illegal drug use, alcohol use, motor vehicle injuries, suicides, and murders combined. (from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, updated 2006)

Tobacco-Related Costs and Expenditure in the United States

• Annually, cigarette smoking costs more than $167 billion, based on lost productivity ($92 billion) and health care expenditures ($75.5 billion).
• Health care costs associated with exposure to secondhand smoke average $10 billion annually.
• In 2005, the latest year with available data, the cigarette industry spent almost $13.11 billion, or more than $36 million per day, on advertising and promotional expenses.

(from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco)

DID YOU KNOW...

Did you know that secondhand smoke can even harm your pets?

Researchers have found that exposure to tobacco secondhand smoke has been associated with:

• Certain cancers in dogs and cats
• Allergies in dogs
• Respiratory problems in birds