EPA: Don't Smoke In The House

The Breathe Easies help remind us about common asthma triggers in a memorable way. Our home environments often have asthma triggers that can be reduced yet are too often overlooked. Secondhand smoke can trigger asthma episodes and increase the severity of attacks. Secondhand smoke is also a risk factor for new cases of asthma in preschool-aged children. Children”s developing bodies make them more susceptible to the effects of secondhand smoke and, due to their small size, they breathe more rapidly than adults, thereby taking in more secondhand smoke. Children exposed to high doses high doses of secondhand smoke, such as those with smoking parents, run the greatest relative risk of experiencing damaging health effects.

Secondhand smoke is the smoke from a cigarette, cigar or pipe, and the smoke exhaled by a smoker. Secondhand smoke contains more than 4,000 substances, including several compounds that cause cancer. Declaring your home and car a smoke-free zone is a simple step you can take to help reduce asthma triggers and improve your family”s health.

Learn more ways to reduce asthma attacks at www.noattacks.org or epa.gov/asthma.