Newswise — New York (December 21) - Between last minute shopping, cooking, traveling, and preparing for visitors to stay with your family the holiday season can be a stressful time for many. During the holiday season, it is important to remember to keep your children safe from secondhand smoke, as there is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke, according to the Surgeon General. Children exposed to secondhand smoke are more likely to suffer ear infections, colds, severe asthma attacks, and lung problems.1
Parent smokers specifically need to keep in mind that their behaviors affect their children in more than one way. Not only may you be exposing your child to secondhand smoke, but many children (73%) also tend to worry about their parent dying. Recent research demonstrates that more than 50 percent of children say their one wish for Christmas is for their parents to stop smoking. Astonishingly, more than a third would go without any Christmas presents; 78 percent would commit to doing their homework every night, and 76 percent would go to bed when told if their parent quit.2 Quitting smoking before the holidays is not only a gift for your family, but also a gift to yourself.
Try to quit for your children and grandchildren, and make your home smoke-free for the holidays. For a free personalized quit plan, call 1-866-NY-QUITS or visit www.nysmokefree.com. Or, go to www.smokefreehousingny.org to learn more about making your house or apartment smoke free.
About The Manhattan Tobacco Cessation ProgramManhattan Tobacco Cessation Program (MTCP) is a grant-funded program by the New York State Department of Health Tobacco Control Program. Housed out of NYU Langone Medical Center, Department of Population Health, MTCP assists partnering health care organizations to develop and implement tailored systems that prompt clinicians to routinely ask every patient about tobacco use, advise smokers to quit, and assist smokers in their quit attempt through referral resources, and pharmacotherapy.
About NYU Langone Medical CenterNYU Langone Medical Center, a world-class, patient-centered, integrated, academic medical center, is one on the nation’s premier centers for excellence in clinical care, biomedical research and medical education. Located in the heart of Manhattan, NYU Langone is composed of four hospitals – Tisch Hospital, its flagship acute care facility; the Hospital for Joint Diseases, one of only five hospitals in the nation dedicated to orthopaedics and rheumatology; Hassenfeld Pediatric Center, a comprehensive pediatric hospital supporting a full array of children’s health services; and the Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine, the world’s first university-affiliated facility devoted entirely to rehabilitation medicine.
1 The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Secondhand Smoke, U.S. Surgeon General, 2006.2 Department of Health, UK. 11/1/12, www.dh.gov.uk/health/2011/11/children-want-parents-to-quit-smoking,