Activity: DEBUNKING MYTHS ON SECOND-HAND SMOKE
Read the given statements which tick the ones you consider as Myths.
- MYTH #1: Smoking in another room is not harmful to non-smokers.
FACT: Even if smoking takes place behind a closed door, second-hand smoke can drift to the rest of the house through cracks under doors, openings for plumbing and electrical cables and heating and air-conditioning ducts.
- MYTH #2: Opening a window or turning on an exhaust hood or fan eliminates most of the second-hand smoke from your house or car.
FACT: Studies have shown that no level of ventilation is powerful enough to get rid of second-hand smoke. In 2000, the World Health Organization stated that good ventilation may help reduce the irritating effect of smoke, but that it cannot eliminate all the toxic agents released into the air from smoking.
- MYTH #3: Using an air purifier or air filter will protect my family from second-hand smoke.
FACT: These devices do not decrease the detrimental effect of smoking; they only mask or remove the smell of smoke.
- MYTH #4: Unborn babies are protected from second-hand smoke while in the womb.
FACT: The chemicals inhaled by a pregnant woman who smokes or who is exposed to second-hand smoke can affect the development of the baby’s organs (heart, lungs, digestive and nervous systems) and compromise his or her growth (low birth weight).
- MYTH #5: Children are not more vulnerable to second-hand smoke than adults.
FACT: Second-hand smoke is detrimental to everyone’s health, but it is especially harmful to young children. Because they breathe faster, children inhale more air than adults relative to their body weight. This means they absorb more of the chemicals found in second-hand smoke, placing them at a greater risk for respiratory problems, learning difficulties, ear infections and colds.
- MYTH #6: Smoking in your home or car when no one is around is not harmful to anyone’s health.
FACT: Second-hand smoke stays in the air long after a cigarette has been extinguished and can still be harmful to non-smokers.
- MYTH#7: Lower level of SHS exposure is safe
FACT: There is no safe level of exposure to second-hand smoke (SHS). Any exposure is harmful.
- MYTH#8: Kids are safe if enough distance is maintained from them while smoking
FACT: 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#9: Use of air freshener can reduce the odor as well as ill effects of smoke
FACT: Many of the dangerous chemicals found in smoke have no odor. These chemicals can stay in the air for up to three hours after a cigarette is put out, and they can stick to fabrics like clothes, furniture, and carpet for weeks. Trying to cover up the odor of secondhand smoke with an air freshener doesn’t help either.
