Tobacco smoke affects everyone . . . smokers and non-smokers.

Half of all Canadian children have at least one parent who smokes.

Environmental tobacco smoke, or ETS, is the secondhand smoke in the air created by people who smoke. ETS contains over 4,000 chemicals including at least 50 of which are associated with, or known to cause cancer.

ETS is very harmful to babies and children because they breathe faster and have smaller airways. Children breathing ETS:

• can suffer severe allergy and asthma attacks;
• have more coughing, wheezing, colds and throat and lung infections;
• are twice as likely to die of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome);
• have a greater chance of earaches and fluid build-up in the middle ear - the most common cause of surgery for young children; if left untreated, this condition can lead to hearing loss.

Smoke can affect babies even before they are born. If a pregnant woman smokes, or others smoke around her, so does her baby.

A smoke-free home is one where no-one - family or visitors - smokes inside the home.

Smoking in only one room of a home still allows smoke to move throughout the entire home. Since the tar in ETS is sticky, it clings to rugs, drapes and furniture. Anyone using that room later can be exposed to harmful chemicals from the ETS long after the smoking is finished.

Any level of ETS is harmful, but lower levels do mean lower health risks. If smoking indoors cannot be eliminated, restricting smoking to one place indoors is a good alternative.

• Allow smoking in the garage only.
• Allow smoking in one room of the home only, with the window open.
• Do not allow smoking in the car when non-smokers are in it.

• Increasing ventilation will dilute the smoke but will not make it safe, since there is no known safe level of exposure to cancer-causing agents. Restricting smokers to separate rooms will only help if these rooms have their own ventilation systems.
• Electronic air filters and air purifiers may remove some smoke particles from the air, but they cannot remove those that have settled on food, furnishings, skin and other surfaces. Their effect on the gaseous components of second-hand smoke is unknown.
• There is only one way to eliminate second-hand smoke from indoor air: remove the source.

• If you can't quit, smoke outdoors to keep the home smoke-free.
• Ask friends, family and babysitters not to smoke inside your home.
• Choose not to allow smoking in the family car, even when children are not present.
• Choose a smoke-free daycare or babysitting service.
• Avoid smoking around pregnant women and children anywhere.
• Choose to be a positive role model for children. Children who regularly see adults smoking view smoking in a more positive light. This can commit them to a lifetime of smoking, too.

Your home is your castle. Set an example for family and friends. Choose to make your home smoke-free. Create a healthy future for your family.

For more information about smoking policies, contact your local health region public health or Saskatchewan Health at 1-800-667-7766.