How does secondhand smoke affect children?
Short answer
Children breathe faster than adults and have smaller airways, so in the same room they take in more smoke relative to body weight. In Vietnam, 33 million people breathe secondhand smoke inside their own homes. WHO states there is no safe level of exposure.
Key points
- Children breathe faster, so they take in more in the same space.
- 33 million people in Vietnam are exposed inside their own homes.
- Small children cannot leave the room, so exposure is not optional.
- WHO states there is no safe level of exposure.
Why children take in more
In the same room, a child and an adult do not breathe in the same amount of smoke relative to body weight. Children breathe faster, and their airways are smaller.
There is a second point that gets less attention: a small child cannot leave the room. An adult who is uncomfortable stands up and walks out. A two-year-old stays where they were put.
The figures in Vietnam
2021 figures from the Vietnam Tobacco Control Fund put 33 million people breathing secondhand smoke inside their own homes.
According to GATS Vietnam, published by WHO, 45.6 percent of adults are still exposed, down from 73.1 percent in 2010.
A safe level
WHO states it plainly: there is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke. There is no threshold treated as acceptable for children.
What does not solve it
Opening a window. Dilutes smoke, does not remove it.
Smoking in another room. Smoke travels on air currents, and residue comes back on clothing and hair.
Smoking on the balcony. Reduces exposure without ending it.
Running a fan. Moves smoke elsewhere in the same home.
The only thing that works completely
No smoke. Stopping is the only route that removes exposure for the children in your home.
If you want to stop, the quitline is 1800 6606, free, 08:00 to 22:00 daily. We receive nothing from that call.
Common questions
- Does smoking in another room protect a child?
- Smoke and residue move between rooms on air currents, and residue settles on the smoker's clothes and hair. The only thing that removes exposure completely is no smoke in or around the home.
- Does residue on furniture affect children?
- Residue settles into curtains, chairs, mattresses and clothing and stays there long after the cigarette is out. Small children crawl on floors and put their hands in their mouths more often than adults, so they contact surfaces more.
Sources for this article
- 2021 figuresVietnam Tobacco Control Fund
- GATS VietnamWHO
- Tobacco fact sheetWHO
- Law on Prevention and Control of Tobacco Harms (2012)National Assembly of Vietnam