I love You My Child, But Not your Lungs.

Everyday around the world, parents drive around smoking in their cars with children in the back seat; some parents smoke in their homes with children breathing in the second hand smoke from their cigarette habits. Every time I see this act of poor judgment, I shake my head in disbelief, anger and disgust.

Adults choose to ignore the dangers of smoking, putting themselves at great peril. Some adults however not only ignore the warnings for themselves, they ignore the warnings for their children, endangering the future of their children with their second hand smoke.

Second hand smoke is a well documented killer, and most adults know this. Many states and countries have legislation in their books that protects the public from the dangers of cigarette smoking, but there are few counties with laws protecting the children of smokers from their deadly cigarette habit. Where laws exist, they are not enforced. You cannot smoke in most restaurants, apartments, bars, night clubs and malls, yet adults are allowed to smoke within breathing distance of their kids with no consideration for the welfare or well-being of the children.

Adults are protected with laws banning use of cellphones, use of seatbelts, OUI, DUI etc, but nobody cares about the fact that children are being poisoned with cigarette toxins every second of everyday. It is as if the government has decided that if you are the child of a smoker, your fate is sealed and your destiny is set.

In my opinion smoking should be banned within 12ft of children, and they should be banned from smoking within confined places, specifically homes and cars. Smoking around children borders on child abuse and endangerment. It should be legislated everywhere to be a criminal act.

''Secondhand smoke is defined as the smoke which is exhaled by the smoker plus the smoke created by the smouldering of a lit cigarette. Secondhand smoke is full of toxins, and is dangerous to anyone who breathes it in. Children face a higher risk than adults of the negative effects of secondhand smoke, also known as ETS. Not only is a child's body still developing physically, but their breathing rate is faster than that of adults''.

Secondhand smoke is a toxic cocktail of poisons and carcinogens, and more people than ever before believe this to be true. However, according to Robert McMillen, MD, many parents still expose their children to secondhand smoke at home on a regular basis. Another danger is third hand smoke. Third-hand smoke is the term used to describe the toxic gases and small particles that linger long after a cigarette is extinguished. Third-hand smoke is a serious health risk, especially for children. Researchers have discovered the presence of cancer-causing chemicals in the urine of babies who breathe in environmental tobacco smoke (ETS).

At an age where we are concerned about the public debt and the future of Social Security/ Medicare, we have chosen as a society to ignore a fundermental expectation of any normal society, the protection of our most valuable asset. our children. If our future is to be guaranteed, we must prioritize the health and well-being of our greatest asset.

We must ensure that our children are not saddled with debilitating illnesses because of the coices that their parents have made. Just like a heroin addict is not allowed to inject their child, or an alcoholic is not allowed to serve alcohol to a minor, a smoker should not be allowed to smoke around a child. Do not tell me that such a law will be hard to enforce; if you make the law, people will make the calls.

Wake up people and smell the smoke; let's all fight for cleaner air for the children of the world.