In Homes and Living Spaces

 

The Greatest Danger of Exposure to Secondhand Smoke is in the Home

Despite progress in tobacco prevention, youth are still regularly exposed to secondhand smoke. Studies show that 41% of middle school students and 53% of high school students in Maine report having been exposed at least once in the past week to secondhand smoke in a room, and an average of 13% of middle and high school students report being exposed to secondhand smoke every day of the week in a car.

In Maine, as in the rest of the United States, citizens spend 69% of their time in the home. Safe, healthy air means relying on adults to make rules prohibiting smoking in the home and not buying into myths about how to reduce the exposure to secondhand smoke.

View the latest media campaign aimed at educating Maine people about the harmful effects of secondhand smoke – Wherever You Live and Breathe, Go Smoke-Free.

Don’t Believe the Myths

Many adults think they understand the dangers of secondhand smoke. But they are exposing their children to its harmful effects when they believe they are limiting their exposure. Don’t buy into these myths about secondhand smoke:

• MYTH 1: Getting “enough distance.” When you smoke in your home or in your car, there is no safe distance between the smoke and your kids. No matter where a cigarette is smoked in your home, the entire house ends up sharing the air.
• MYTH 2: Opening windows and turning on fans. Opening a window or turning on a fan can’t completely remove the poisonous chemicals in secondhand smoke from the air. In fact, not even the most expensive air cleaning systems are able to clear the air of all poisons in secondhand smoke.
• MYTH 3: If you can’t smell the smoke in the air, then it’s gone. Even if someone can’t smell secondhand smoke, they may still be breathing its poisonous toxins. Putting out a cigarette before kids get home doesn’t actually protect them from being exposed to the chemicals in secondhand smoke.
• MYTH 4: The only option is to quit. While quitting smoking is the only way to completely protect kids from secondhand smoke in the home and car, there is another step you can take: stepping outside every time you smoke.

 

Don’t believe the myths: Take it outside. The only way to protect kids from secondhand smoke is to make sure cigarettes, cigars, and pipes are always smoked outside the home and outside the car.

Find out more about the myths of secondhand smoke and other ways to use the health of your kids as motivation to quit by visiting Raisesmokefreekids.com.

Create a Voluntary Policy about Smoking in Your Home and Car

Adopting voluntary policies to protect families and friends from secondhand smoke is having a considerable impact around the country. Voluntary rules to ban indoor smoking in the home are effective and becoming more common. In 1993, only 43% of U.S. homes and 39% of Maine homes had such rules. In 2002, 66% of U.S. homes and 62% of Maine homes had voluntarily created such rules.

Protect your family by taking the Smoke-Free Homes Pledge.

Learn More

Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids: The latest news, facts, and industry reports that are helping to change public attitudes and public policies on tobacco.

Smoke-Free Homes Program: Join the millions of people who are protecting their children from secondhand smoke. Take the smoke-free pledge and become a child’s hero by keeping a smoke-free home and car.

Smoking & Tobacco Use: The CDC provides facts and current data about the health effects of secondhand smoke.

Secondhand Smoke Resources: Find information on secondhand smoke exposure, health effects, and smoke-free initiatives and resources from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Secondhand Smoke: What It Means To You…Booklet: This booklet explains, in an easy-to-read format, what scientists have learned about the dangers of secondhand smoke. [Note: please be patient - lengthy download]

Maine Tobacco-Free College Network. The Maine Tobacco-Free College Network helps to support a tobacco-free lifestyle for the benefit of students, faculty, staff, and visitors at college campuses around the state in an effort to counter the high rates of tobacco use among college students.

Maine Tobacco-Free Hospital Network. The Maine Tobacco-Free Hospital Network aims to create and award Gold Star Standards of Excellence to encourage more hospitals to adopt smoke-free policies, as well as provide ongoing technical assistance to the hospitals around the state.

Smoke-Free For Me. The Smoke-Free Housing Coalition of Maine helps landlords make informed decisions about establishing smoke-free policies for their properties, and helps them understand their rights, responsibilities and risks as a property owner. It also helps renters understand their rights to live smoke-free.

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