They Say: Secondhand Smoke Worse for Kids Than the Rest of Us

Ever roll your cart out of the department store, right into a cloud of methane, formaldehyde and hydrogen cyanide? If I sound like one of those anti-smoking ads, good. I hate when I can't keep my kid from the clutches of the smokers.

For 17 years, I had a several-pack-a-day habit. Then I left home for university. The remnants of a childhood spent living with a smoker now live in the pocket of my purse, a chunky plastic medicated inhaler. A minor cold in my husband quickly settles in my chest, the phlegm choking the air from my lungs.

I'm walking proof of the results of a study released this week that shows secondhand smoke is harder on kids than it is on adults. Scientists at Tufts University in Boston found higher traces of carbon monoxide in the blood of kids who breathed in the secondhand smoke than adults who breathed the same air. Because kids have smaller bodies, they're breathing in a higher percentage of air per body weight – and that can have a determinatal affect on those bodies.

So I was a little shocked when I read the headline of Babblebaby Parental Advisory: Thank You for Smoking. But I don't judge a book by it's cover, so I kept reading.

Rebecca Odes and Ceridwen Morris say a smoking friend shouldn't be banned from hanging out around your kid because of the educational benefits of exposing them to a smoker and the emotional aspect of having an adult friend. I agree you have to talk with your kids about smoking instead of airbrushing smokers out of their lives. Even making a friend smoke outside – but within sight – so you can point out that they're being separated from the party because of their decision to choose something unhealthy can have a positive affect. What kid wants to be kicked out to stand in the rain while everyone's inside having cake and ice cream?

I do think an ultimatum is in order for our friends – or anyone who comes near our kids. I don't care how much of a pain in the ass you have to be. Tell them standing a few feet away, while the wind blows back this way, isn't doing anyone any good. Tell them standing next to the door of the house just means it's going to follow them in when they're done. Tell them to stand in the rain for all you care.

And if you're embarrassed, just think about your kid 17 years down the road, choking over a bowl of steaming hot water, struggling for some air.

Image: CBS News