SantaFeToday.com Santa Fe’s Hometown News
By NMDOH
The New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) salutes the Boys & Girls Clubs of New Mexico for their public health efforts in promoting NMDOH’s Tobacco Use Prevention and Control program’s “Kids for Smoke-Free Air Challenge”, a secondhand smoke awareness campaign for parents and families who may be exposing their children and others to unhealthy secondhand smoke in homes and cars.
The members of the Boys & Girls Club of Ohkay Owingeh collected over 260 pledges from adults 18 and over throughout the community who pledged to keep smoke-free rules in their homes and cars. When combined with three other participating Boys & Girls Clubs, over 1300 signed pledges were collected in New Mexico. In addition to pledge cards, campaign materials included a website (Kids4SmokeFreeAir.com), English and Spanish videos, and an educational activity, “What Happens When You Breathe Secondhand Smoke”.
The “Kids for Smoke-Free Air Challenge” included a contest in which participating Boys and Girls Clubs earned cash prizes of up to $1000 for each club.
Secondhand smoke can cause serious health problems in children.
- Studies show that children whose parents smoke get sick more often. Their lungs develop less than children who do not breathe secondhand smoke, and they get more bronchitis and pneumonia.
- Wheezing and coughing are more common in children who breathe secondhand smoke.
- Secondhand smoke can trigger an asthma attack in a child. Children with asthma who are around secondhand smoke have more severe and frequent asthma attacks. A severe asthma attack can put a child’s life in danger.
- Children whose parents smoke around them get more ear infections.
“Parents can help protect their children from secondhand smoke by taking the pledge not to smoke in their homes or cars. According to the Surgeon General, there is NO safe amount of secondhand smoke,” said Ohkay Owingeh Boys & Girls Club Chief Executive Officer Jay Abeyta.
For more information on secondhand smoke, visit: areyoudoingenoughnm.com. For more information on NM’s free tobacco cessation services, visit: QUITNOWNM.com.
