Smoking: Health Risk for Family Members
Topic Overview
The smoke from your cigarettes (
secondhand smoke
) puts your loved ones' health at risk.
- Because of secondhand smoke, spouses and children of people who smoke have an
increased risk of cancer and heart disease.
- Babies whose parents smoke:
- Are more likely to have ear infections, pneumonia, and
bronchitis in the first few years of their lives.
- Have a higher
risk of
sudden infant death syndrome
(SIDS).
- Children of people who smoke are more likely to be
smokers themselves.
When you quit smoking, you reduce all of these risk factors for
health problems in your family. You also increase the chance that your children
will not smoke or will quit if they already smoke.
Credits
|
By
| Healthwise Staff |
|
Primary Medical Reviewer
| Adam Husney, MD - Family Medicine |
|
Specialist Medical Reviewer
| John Hughes, MD - Psychiatry |
|
Last Revised
| July 6, 2011 |
Last Revised:
July 6, 2011
