July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.

Secondhand smoke a clear danger

Letters to the Editor

To the editor:
A few days ago I had the chance to witness an infant being exposed to secondhand smoke.  The family lives in a small apartment. Both parents were smoking even while one parent held the baby.  
As I inhaled the smoke I felt helpless in trying to protect the voiceless child.
Back in my house I was wondering what laws are in place to protect people from the effects of secondhand smoke.  In a few minutes of research I quickly learned that more work needs to be done. I want to share a few statistics that got my attention.
According to the American Lung Association and the WHO (World Health Organization) Report 2009 only 5.4 percent of the world's population is covered by comprehensive smoke free laws.  This means that more than 94 percent of the people remain unprotected (especially those who are voiceless) by comprehensive smoke free laws.
The WHO on Global Tobacco Report 2009 states that smoking kills more than 5 million people every year.
This number is surprising because it is more than deaths from HIV-AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria combined.  If the current trend continues, tobacco use could kill more than 8 million people a year by 2030.

The United States is the only cigarette market in the world in which the percentage of women smoking cigarettes (22 percent) comes close to the number of men who smoke (35 percent).  Europe has a slightly larger gap with 46 percent of the men smoking and 26 percent of the women smoking.  Most people may not realize that nicotine reaches the brain within 10 seconds after the smoke is inhaled. Nicotine has been found in all parts of the body, even in breast milk.  If a parent goes out of the home to smoke there is still residue of secondhand smoke on his or her clothing which can affect the children.
Even though comprehensive smoke free laws start to make improvements among states, more work still needs to be done.  
Responsibility for dealing with the effects of secondhand smoke lies not only with the tobacco companies and a better educational awareness program dealing with the effects of secondhand smoke.
It also is the responsibility of "we, the parents" to look out for the best interests of our children.
AdolfoSolis
CASA de Portland and
Jay County Drug Coalition[[In-content Ad]]
PORTLAND WEATHER

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