Think of the Cheeldren

I received an Email yesterday from a nanny fussbucket site that is blaming smokers for killing the newborn. Now I quite like receiving E mails, but when I receive drivel like that then I feel the need to reply.

In the Email the sender implied that smokers were mass killers of our youth. In it she attempts to state ten truths. Here they are:

1. Smelly baby – Probably the least important reason but still applicable; babies are known for smelling so clean and fresh. The smell of cigarettes is potent, and clings to anything and everything it touches. You really don’t want your baby to smell like an ashtray do you?
2. Fussy babies – It has been shown that infants do not do well in a smoke filled environment, and some studies have even correlated second hand smoke to a higher incidence of crankiness in babies. The smoke can irritate their lungs and eyes and make them uncomfortable.
3. Asthma – Studies confirm that children raised around smokers have a higher incidence of asthma than those raised in environments with cleaner air. Also, children who are exposed to secondhand smoke may have more frequent and more severe asthma attacks.
4. Poisons – Do you really want your baby breathing in all of those poisons? The fact is that secondhand smoke is full of irritants and chemicals that are harmful to the lungs. These chemicals include formaldehyde, arsenic, benzene, and vinyl chloride among others. Since babies have such small and delicate lungs that are still in the process of developing they are more vulnerable to the ill effects of these poisons.
5. Cancer – Research shows that second hand smoke can be just as harmful as smoking. In some cases, people who never smoked but were around smokers came down with cancer while the smoker remained relatively healthy. Secondhand smoke is a known human carcinogen containing a plethora of carcinogenic chemicals; chemicals your baby does not need to be breathing.
6. Lung damage – Recent studies reveal that babies who are subjected to secondhand smoke incur damage to their developing lungs which are quite possibly permanent damages. Their lung function decreases which can make them more susceptible to respiratory problems
7. Ear infections – The adverse effects aren’t limited to the lungs; in fact inhalation of secondhand smoke can cause fluid buildup in the ears resulting in ear infections.
8. Bronchitis – This is another respiratory issue that is seen more frequently in babies exposed to secondhand smoke.
9. Pneumonia – Babies breathing in smoke are more likely to come down with pneumonia than those in a clean air environment.
10. SIDS – One of the most frightening reasons to keep baby out of a smoke filled environment is that infants exposed to secondhand smoke are up to four times more likely to die of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.

My reply:

1. Never smelt a dirty nappy?

2. Really. I'd just love to have that study to peruse. If you blow smoke in my eyes I would be cranky.

3. This one takes the biscuit. Smoking prevalence has fallen whilst Asthma levels have increased. The cause now being considered is excessive cleanliness in the infant's formative months.

4. It's the dose that's important. Next you'll be purporting that the wiff of SHS will kill instantly.

5. So you don't think that pushing your baby within feet of a car exhaust  is unsafe? You've actually stated that smokers are less likely to get cancer. Strange reasoning.

6. I'd like you to back up that comment with a link to that study. I can't find one that gives empirical evidence that your assertion is correct.

7.That little gem has never been proved.

8.Anyone can catch Bronchitis. I had repeated Bronchitis when I was young. My parents didn't smoke.

9.State your source for that assertion.

10. No-one yet knows what causes SID. The rate in the UK is static at about 300 per year. You set the cause of investigative science back to the days of necromancy. 

If you are going to write uninformed drivel like this and post it on my blog, then at least research the facts. If you wish, I can supply links that will give you the facts. I don't deal in populist hearsay.