Should second-hand smoke be illegal in a home with children?

backatit2 · Mar 15, 2011

do you have chidren? just curious.

starzrn · Mar 15, 2011

great, google third hand smoke, better yet, look it up in nursing journals! let me know what you think after researching :)
if you shot up heroin, id hope youd get sent to treatment! i would not want to see a parent looking after a child on heroin, huge difference!! me smoking a cigarette does not effect my mental stability in looking after my child! :)

drinking does the same. i dislike both!

backatit2 · Mar 15, 2011

i know people who think parents shouldn't drink around children. i drink beer at home (and yes my kids know what it is) and i'll drink a beer when we're out at dinner and couldn't care less if anyone has a problem with it.

there's nothing WRONG with drinking beer. that's what i've told my kids and that's what i believe. everyone shouldn't be punished because a few people beat their wives or did horrible things to their kids when they drank.

seriously, i don't think it's good to smoke in the car and especially not with young children or babies because of the confined space, but houses are not "confined" and if someone wants to smoke in the kitchen while the kids are in the bed or smoke in their bedroom or whatever the case may be - i don't think they should be hauled to jail. there are too many people out there doing REALLY bad things to their kids to flood the police with that.

starzrn · Mar 15, 2011

do you have chidren? just curious.

someone asked me that.

Yes, my husband and I (married 28 years) have two grown children who don't smoke, get drunk, do drugs, and are not obese.:)...thank God!

starzrn · Mar 15, 2011

i know people who think parents shouldn't drink around children. i drink beer at home (and yes my kids know what it is) and i'll drink a beer when we're out at dinner and couldn't care less if anyone has a problem with it.
there's nothing WRONG with drinking beer. that's what i've told my kids and that's what i believe. everyone shouldn't be punished because a few people beat their wives or did horrible things to their kids when they drank.
seriously, i don't think it's good to smoke in the car and especially not with young children or babies because of the confined space, but houses are not "confined" and if someone wants to smoke in the kitchen while the kids are in the bed or smoke in their bedroom or whatever the case may be - i don't think they should be hauled to jail. there are too many people out there doing REALLY bad things to their kids to flood the police with that.

The studies would disagree and say that a home or building where there is second hand smoke can cause death too....so I hope that you would seriously reconsider so that you may better educate your patients.

backatit2 · Mar 15, 2011

someone asked me that.
Yes, my husband and I (married 28 years) have two grown children who don't smoke, get drunk, do drugs, and are not obese.:)...thank God!

well, if i would've spent an hour reading every response then i might've known that!

i'd be willing to bet that your children do and/or have done things that you don't know about.

since when does "drinking beer" equate to "getting drunk?"

backatit2 · Mar 15, 2011

The studies would disagree and say that a home or building where there is second hand smoke can cause death too....so I hope that you would seriously reconsider so that you may better educate your patients.

i didn't say smoking is awesome! i said smoking in the same home/building even if the kids aren't in the presence is a silly issue to consider flooding the police with or hauling people to jail considering the REAL horrible things kids are experiencing that go undetected.

Fribblet · Mar 15, 2011

well, if i would've spent an hour reading every response then i might've known that!
i'd be willing to bet that your children do and/or have done things that you don't know about.
since when does "drinking beer" equate to "getting drunk?"

Some people who are weak and lack impulse and self control project that onto everyone else. So, if they can't drink without getting drunk, then obviously no one else can drink without getting drunk. And likely, they very easily lose their inhibitions and act inappropriately when a sip hits their lips. That's been my experience with that attitude at least.

Oh, and it's not a flaw with the individual, it's the fault of the inanimate object which must have developed magical powers that cause people to drink to excess, as a result, the [object] must be outlawed for everyone.

backatit2 · Mar 15, 2011

Some people who are weak and lack impulse and self control project that onto everyone else. So, if they can't drink without getting drunk, then obviously no one else can drink without getting drunk. And likely, they very easily lose their inhibitions and act inappropriately when a sip hits their lips. That's been my experience with that attitude at least.
Oh, and it's not a flaw with the individual, it's the fault of the inanimate object which must have developed magical powers that cause people to drink to excess, as a result, the [object] must be outlawed for everyone.

lol - right! like i said before, just because someone's "daddy" got drunk and beat up "mommy" it means alcohol is bad - it couldn't be that "daddy" had no self control.

allnurses Guide · Mar 15, 2011

It's actually the surgeons general warning that thinks a parents second hand smoke can cause death, I didn't come up with that one. I just know I couldn't breath.

I guess I have seen how hard it is to get people to change their own self-destructive behavior, which is the frustration of most teachers, cops, judges, nurses, doctors, social workers, prison wardens, guards, and airline maintenance persons. Our system of laws recognizes that we can't force people to change their behavior in their own homes in most cases, so we collectively decide where we are going to put some serious rations of our tax dollars - those things we decide are simply intolerable in all cases. It is a dynamic process.

As I already said, I don't think we disagree on the general idea that a child should not be subjected to the environment you described earlier. I wonder if you couldn't have a talk with the child's doctor and describe the situation if he isn't aware of it and brainstorm with him or her - how about the Case Manager? I would never say to accept the status quo just because there is no law on the books right now that covers it.

Again...heck no, I wouldn't want to relocate that many kids, but if education doesn't work, such as telling people not to text while driving didn't work, the government has to step in. Is it always perfect? NO, but should we just let it slide? I don't believe so.

This is true, but with traffic laws, even those that are instrusive are added to an existing system of enforcement and are intended to protect individuals using a collective system (roads and highways) This is why in my city the smoking laws are so strict you cannot even stand outside on the sidewalk and smoke anymore. The public at large is impacted by the smoke.

The last time I can think where a vice indulged in to some extent by a huge swath of the population was actually made illegal was Prohibition. Who could really argue with the position of the Temperance Movement? The potential damage caused by alcohol is indisputable, and yet Prohibition was repealed. It was repealed not because booze suddenly became a great thing, but that the enforcement of the law turned out to be more harmful overall than letting people take that responsibility upon themselves and prosecuting crimes associated with it instead of making imbibing itself the crime.

I find that most of the smokers I know are aware of the health risk to kids and figure out ways to adapt to it. Smoking isn't like heroin addiction or the like because a smoker can provide just as safe and healthy a home as nonsmokers if they want to. My mom cooped me up in a small smoky car and never followed up on the allergy testing that would have saved me years of suffering. My kid's dad smoked only outside - never in the house or car. I'm going to come right out and say we were pretty awesome parents. :) I've taken care of kids who have lived in foster care for years - it is not good.

Most people are motivated by money, that is why I suggested fines. I am not a government employee, just a nurse with a passion for breath!

Breath? Nahhhh . . . Save the Whales first (kidding!:)) Yes people are, but many people default, pay late, fail to appear etc etc - and who's to say they have gotten rid of the cigs other than them? When you make a law you must figure out escalating consequences when the offender blows off the first consequence. You can't just say oh nevermind when the fee isn't paid, the late fee isn't paid, you didn't show up for your mandatory nicotine blood test. If you ignore anything that is law for long enough, you will very likely be taken into custody eventually. It takes a lot of money and manpower to create those paths of escalating consequences.

You mentioned M.A.D.D. - thank God for them but even with a group of mothers of children killed by drunk drivers it took years of tireless advocacy to tighten up the "slap on the wrist" laws. It was a very long hard road - and it's success depended on raising public awareness first.

starzrn · Mar 15, 2011

well, if i would've spent an hour reading every response then i might've known that!
i'd be willing to bet that your children do and/or have done things that you don't know about.
since when does "drinking beer" equate to "getting drunk?"

My children hate cigarettes with a passion. They are the apple of my eye...I don't know what your point is, but if it makes you feel better...have at it!

I don't think drinking beer equates to getting drunk...did I say that? :confused:

LACA, BSN, LPN, RN · Mar 15, 2011

What's the big deal about parents going outside to smoke? I have a 2 year old, neither my husband nor myself smoke. We have relatives/friends who do...everyone knows that smoking is absolutely not allowed in our house under any circumstances. I won't take my child into a house where someone smokes in the house right in front of her. It's not healthy and its not good for her. I despise smoking and think it should be outlawed, but I'm realistic enough to know that that would never happen. If someone smokes and they have children...can't they just step outside, smoke, and be done with it?