Avoiding tobacco is the greatest approach to prevent asthma.

Tobacco smoke is harmful to everyone. It can influence you even if you are not in the presence of someone who is actively smoking. Tobacco's effects are now known to extend far further than its smoke.

Tobacco smoke can be extremely harmful to your health. But did you know it can be significantly more damaging to persons with asthma, particularly vulnerable groups such as children and the elderly?

What Effect Does Tobacco Smoke Have on Asthma?

Asthma is a chronic disease that causes inflammation of the airways, making it difficult to breathe. This inflammation is caused by asthma triggers. Triggers are items that bother asthmatics but may not affect others. Tobacco smoke is one of the most common asthma causes.

Asthma symptoms include:
  • Coughing
  • Wheezing (a whistling, squeaky sound when you breathe)
  • Shortness of breath
  • Rapid breathing

When you think of the toxic elements in tobacco, nicotine is usually the first thing that springs to mind. However, tobacco smoke contains a variety of additional hazardous chemicals, including arsenic and cyanide.

Tobacco smoke contains almost 7,000 harmful compounds. Around 70 of these are recognized carcinogens. Given this, it's not surprising that tobacco is one of the most prevalent asthma triggers.

What Exactly Is Secondhand Smoke?

Tobacco smoke ingested by someone who does not smoke is referred to as secondhand smoke. It can produce many of the same issues as smoking. Secondhand smoke has the greatest impact on children.

Children can suffer major health consequences from secondhand smoke.

  • Babies who are exposed to tobacco smoke before or during their first few months of life are more likely to develop asthma and allergies.
  • Studies reveal that older children whose parents smoke are more likely to become ill. Their lungs develop at a slower rate than youngsters who do not breathe secondhand smoking. They also have a higher incidence of bronchitis and pneumonia.
  • Children who are exposed to secondhand smoke are more likely to have wheezing and coughing.
  • Second hand smoke can cause a youngster to have an asthma attack. Asthmatic children who are exposed to secondhand smoking have more severe and frequent asthma attacks.
  • More than 40% of children who visit the ER for asthma do so because their parents smoke.Ear infections are more common in children whose parents smoke around them. They have more fluid in their ears. They also undergo more surgeries to insert ear tubes for drainage.
What Exactly Is Thirdhand Smoke?

Thirdhand smoke is not widely known. According to studies, thirdhand smoke can damage asthma and cause other health problems in the same way that smoking and secondhand smoke do.

Thirdhand smoke is tobacco smoke residue. It adheres to surfaces and particles for months after a cigarette is smoked. Then it combines with other contaminants in the air, such as ozone, to form hazardous particles that are easily inhaled. These particles are really small. This means they can enter into your lungs more easily. Some specialists feel they may be worse than nicotine for people who have asthma.

Smoking outside has little effect on the dangers of thirdhand smoke. Airing out rooms or cars is also ineffective. The residue remains on your skin and clothing. People (including children) then inhale or absorb the residue through their skin or mouth. Thirdhand smoke cannot be avoided by opening windows, employing fans or air filters, or restricting smoking to certain rooms or outside.

Cotinine, a molecule contained in tobacco, has been identified in the urine of people who have been exposed to thirdhand smoke. Doctors can assess nicotine in the bloodstream using cotinine. This demonstrates that the effects of tobacco can extend well beyond its smoke.

To protect nonsmokers from the effects of tobacco, a tobacco-free atmosphere must be created.

How Can I Reduce My Tobacco Smoke Exposure?

The only method to minimize tobacco-related asthma incidence is to reduce exposure to it. Here are some things you can do to lessen the effects of tobacco smoke on your asthma symptoms:

  • If you smoke, make every effort to stop. There are numerous tools and support groups available to assist you.
  • Discuss with your children the dangers of smoking and how it affects asthma.
  • Request that no one smoke in or around your home.
  • Pay visits to smoke-free households and workplaces that have a no-smoking policy.
  • Select childcare that does not expose your child to second- or third-hand smoke. Even if a caregiver does not smoke in the presence of a kid, they might still expose the youngster to thirdhand smoke through their clothing or skin.

Asthma affects around 25 million individuals, and the number is growing. We can assist reduce asthma rates overall if we all work together to create the first tobacco-free generation.

For more information on effects of smoking for Asthma Children and how to get them prevented from Smoking effects you can contact the Asthma and Allergy Specialists in south Delhi

Dr Neetu Jain
MBBS, DNB, FCCP (USA), EDRM (EUROPE), FICCM
Interventional Pulmonologist ,Critical Care & Sleep Medicine

PSRI Multispeciality Hospital Delhi
Press Enclave Marg, J Pocket, Phase II, Sheikh Sarai, New Delhi, Delhi 110017
Website - https://drneetujainpulmo.com/

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8287429854