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Smoking, we know it is bad for us, we might even realise that it's bad for those around us - but I don't think many of us appreciate how dangerous it is to even be seen smoking around our kids.
In a new poll of visitors to www.StopSmokingShop.co.uk it was found that 78% of smokers were brought up by parents who smoked. That's an amazing figure that hints that your smoking around the kids may be sending our signals that it's really okay to smoke - no matter how many times you tell them that it's a filthy habit.
This statistic is backed up by other evidence. In a study of parental influence on children's smoking habits by University of Washington it was found that children of smokers were twice more likely to start smoking than kids from non-smoking families.
Even if you do strike it lucky and your child decides not to copy mum and dad and become a smoker, the damage you are doing to your kid's health if you smoke around them can be enormous. Second hand smoke, even in small amounts, contains 40 dangerous chemicals - some of which can cause cancer. Your children can suffer from reduced lung function and asthma. They won't be coming home with any prizes from sports day. Second hand smoke has also been linked to sudden infant death syndrome (cot deaths), leukemia and lung infections.
So, if the second hand smoke doesn't kill them, becoming a copy-cat smoker very likely will. 50% of smokers die from a smoking-related illness. That's two chances you have to kill your kids through smoking - or if you look at it another way, two chances you have of saving their lives if you quit.
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