Breathing poison

How many of us would willingly put our children in a room with toxic air? Ideally, none. But in reality, we are guilty of, and perhaps blissfully unaware of, pushing our children towards harm’s way. Latest research shows the shocking impact of passive smoking on school-age children in Pakistan and Bangladesh. Data suggests that an alarming 95 per cent of children in the two countries are at risk of developing health issues caused by breathing in fumes produced mainly by smokers. The study, conducted by top medical researchers from Pakistan, Bangladesh and the UK, has appeared in the Nicotine and Tobacco Research journal. What is even more significant is the contrast with the rest of the world. While the global figure stands at 40 per cent of children having been exposed to secondhand smoke, in Pakistan the figure stands at 99.4 per cent, and in Bangladesh 92 per cent. The study involved over 2,700 children in 74 schools, where the medium of instruction was Urdu or Bangla, implying that these schools were attended by lower-income groups.

There is an obvious lack of awareness about the harm passive smoking can cause to children. The use of cigarettes in closed settings, including cars and homes, has a profound impact on the welfare of children, leading to problems such as sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and other complications. Research carried out in the past also suggested that secondhand smoke can contribute to lung cancer and other pulmonary diseases. We need to catch up with the West and seriously think about saving our children’s future. There needs to be much greater emphasis on educating parents – especially fathers since tobacco use in urban and rural males in Pakistan is 26.1 per cent and 24.1 per cent, respectively – about the harm they are causing to their children by smoking, especially in closed environments.

Doing this should involve a media campaign as well as campaigns at mosques and other places where men gather frequently. At present, the focus is on issuing warnings on cigarette boxes about smoking itself but not on the impact smoking has on people around the smoker. For many, it would be a surprise to learn that their smoking is creating medical emergencies for a huge number of people, mainly children. Indeed, even in more educated households it is uncertain whether people are aware about the dangers of secondhand smoke and the fact that it could be extremely dangerous for the health of infants and children. Researchers this time have explicitly shared the number of children they think are at risk. As always, the question now is whether action will be taken to follow up on the findings and rescue hapless children who breathe in the fumes produced by adults and as a result face consequences of an extremely serious nature. The problem is one that must be addressed with a degree of urgency by medical professionals and others with community influence. We have to work together to save our children from lifelong medical complications.