Part I
Introduction
The overall child mortality decreased significantly during 1990s, but environmental factors still kill over 3 million kids under age 5 each year. These infants make up about 10% of the population in the world, but comprise over 40% of population that suffers from health problems, which are related to environment. Infants worldwide need special protection from the longstanding risks like smoke from tobacco and traditional fuels as well as from the emerging risks like exposure to a rising number of the hazardous chemicals. The purpose of this pamphlet is to inform caregivers and parents about tobacco smoke, an environmental factor, which affect the health of infants.
Every year, tobacco kills about 350,000 Americans. Tobacco smoke is an environmental factor that is a key threat to infants’ health. Infants are at risk from passive exposure to the cigarette smoke. Infants who are exposed to the passive smoke have more pneumonia, more bronchitis, and further respiratory infections than infants who are not exposed. The infection frequency is actually a direct consequence of smoke amount in the home. According to various studies carried out, infants living with two smoking parents or caregivers have additional respiratory infections than infants who live with just one smoking parent or caregiver (UNICEF & World Health Organization, 2002). Maternal smoking has been identified as having a stronger effect on the respiratory infections of infants than smoking by a father. Lowest rates of asthma and lung infection are found in the infants of caregivers or parents who do not smoke whatsoever.
Moreover, smoking during the pregnancy poses grave dangers to unborn children. In fact, study after study has revealed that among the women who have a habit of smoking, the probability of giving birth to low-birth weight and premature infant is significantly higher than among the women who do not engage themselves in smoking. Furthermore, smoking women are at increased risk of miscarriage. Those women who smoke frequently face a more hard time conceiving than those who do not smoke. In addition, the risk of them not becoming pregnant is elevated. Infants of smoking parents and caregivers have higher than a normal risk of passing away from the sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
Part II
I shared the above pamphlet with a parent and her child. This parent and her child are my neighbors and come from my ethnic group. The age of the parent is 40 years, her child is 2 years old, and she is educated up to the high school level. She was very happy after I taught her the effects of environmental tobacco smoke on her child. Our discussion was fruitful since she frequently sought clarification of the points that she did not understand. In assessing her understanding, I asked her a number of questions related to our topic of discussion and she answered all of them correctly. As mentioned above, our discussion was fruitful since the parent vowed to protect her child from inhaling tobacco smoke. However, she reported that the child’s father was a smoker and she did not know how to prevent him from this dangerous behavior. Therefore, it is important for the authorities to campaign against tobacco smoking and fine those who do not desist from smoking.
References
United Nations Environment Programme, UNICEF., & World Health Organization. (2002). Children in the new millennium: Environmental impact on health. Nairobi: United Nations Environment Programme.
Environmental News Service, "Children Bear the Heaviest Burden of Environmental Disease," accessed online at www.who.int/peh/ ceh/articles/burden.htm, on November 23, 2013
