No Smoking Day 9th March 2016
How passive smoking affects children’s oral health
There are many reasons for kicking the habit this No Smoking Day.
One being that smoking is the main cause of mouth cancer, which takes the lives of over 7,000 people a year in the UK. However, stop for a moment and consider how your smoking is affecting your children’s oral health.
The oral health of children exposed to toxic cigarette smoke was slower to develop compared to those who were not exposed to passive smoking.
The Royal College of Physicians reported that around two million children in the UK live in a home where they are exposed to cigarette smoke and shockingly, there are almost 9,500 hospital admissions due to second-hand smoking.
Join the No Smoking Day campaign, 9th March 2016.
Smoking was banned in England in workplaces and most enclosed public spaces in July 2007 following similar legislation in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and since 1st October 2015 it has been illegal in England and Wales to smoke in vehicles carrying anyone under the age of 18.
Passive Smoking – the facts
- Smoke can stay in the air for up to two and a half hours even with a window open
- Second-hand smoke contains more than 4,000 chemicals, some of which are known to cause cancer
- Exposure to second-hand smoke has been strongly linked to chest infections, asthma, ear problems and cot death in children
- Research indicates 300,000 children in the UK visit a GP each year because of the effects of second-hand smoke, with 9,500 going to hospital
- Smoking in a car creates a higher concentration of toxins than in a bar – some research has put it at 11 times higher
If you would like to discuss any aspect of your oral health please get in touch with us at the Smile Concepts practice to make an appointment.
Additional information
- Secondhand Smoke: the impact on children, ASH Research Report, March 2014.
- Secondhand smoke in the home, ASH fact sheet, April 2015.
- Secondhand smoke, ASH fact sheet, February 2014.
