It’s the law in California now, if you’re smoking in your car, you’d better not have a child in there with you.  The law aims to reduce the exposure of minors to high levels of toxic, second hand smoke.

Making your car smoke-free is just one of the things parents can do to make sure your children grow up healthy.  This week, we hear from one mom who kicked the habit altogether for her family.

Bobe Bravo is the mother of two children, 5 year old Anthony and 16 year old Marie.  It’s been eight years since Bobe last smoked.  “I just threw everything away.  I went from ten to twelve packs.  I just threw it all away.  I just stopped.  It wasn’t easy.  But I just stopped. 

She quit because of urging from her daughter, Marie, who was in second grade at the time.  “Yeah.  I knew it was really bad for you and stuff.  How you can get lung cancer.  And stuff and I didn’t want her to be like that.”

Bobe says, “She came home one day and said you know mom, smoking is drugs.  And she goes, ‘You know, if you’re doing that, you’re telling me it’s okay to do drugs.  And drugs aren’t right.’”

CIGARETTE SMOKE
-contains more than 4,800 chemicals
(69 are known to cause cancer)
Source:  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

The facts are clear; cigarette smoking can cause serious health problems, even death.  Cigarette smoke contains more than 4,800 chemicals, 69 of which are known to cause cancer.

According to the American Lung Association more than 37,000 people in California die each year from diseases caused by cigarette smoking.

Dr. Aftab Naz, of the Madera Family Medical Group, says there is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke.  “Any exposure can cause illness.  Even a little bit can cause illness.  The children of parents who smoke have more incidences of ear infections, asthma, lung diseases.”

U.S. Children exposed to Secondhand Smoke
Four or more times a week
11% - 3 Million Children
Ages 6 and under
Source:  Environmental Protection Agency

The latest statistics from the Environmental Protection Agency show 11 percent of children in the U.S. age 6 and under are exposed to secondhand smoke in their homes four or more times a week.  That’s about three million children.

Affects of Secondhand Smoke on Children
increased risk for:
-sudden infant death syndrome
-ear problems
-chronic lung ailments
-more severe symptoms of asthma
-premature death
Source:  U.S. Surgeon General

Children who are exposed to secondhand smoke are at an increased risk for sudden infant death syndrome, premature death, ear problems, and chronic ling ailments.  For children with asthma, it can make their symptoms even worse.

The impact of secondhand smoke on a child is far more dramatic than that of an adult.  “Children are breathing much more rapidly.  Their breathing rate is faster than older people.  So, they inhale more smoke.”

New Law

A new law in California aims to help keep our children healthy.  It calls for a ban on smoking in cars.  If you break the law, you could be fined up to $100.  As of January first of 2008.  They can not smoke with a minor in the car.  Dr. Naz points out, “If they do, they will get a ticket.  And it can be in the car, when the car is stopped.  And it doesn’t matter.  The car can be stopped or driving they can get a ticket for that.”

Dr. Naz says the average smoker spends about three to four hundred dollars a month, not including the cost of illness.  He says it’s cheaper to quit.  “The average cost to cut smoking is about $150 to 3-hundred dollars a month.   But, it is better to be quitting.  It will take about 6 months or so.  for them to stop smoking.”

And while maintaining a smoking habit can be expensive, for Bobe kicking the habit meant more than just saving money.  She wanted to be a role model for her daughter.  “I kinda looked at her and thought wow, so I just quit.  I thought you know what, if my kids going to be telling me it’s a drug and it’s okay, I don’t want it to be.”

Her decision to quit was good on several counts.  Bobe says she is lucky her smoking didn’t result in any health problems for her family, she is saving money on cigarettes and she has more time to devote to her children.

Marie says, “She’s not like disappearing to go take a smoke somewhere.  She’s there to spend time with me and my brother.”

Today, Bobe helps other people who want to stop smoking.  She is employed at Corcoran District Hospital where she is a “Freedom from Smoking Facilitator.”

For phone numbers and links, see Resource, of Course!