In the wake of an increase in the rate of exposure to secondhand smoke in homes last year, the Health Promotion Administration (HPA) on Wednesday warned that secondhand smoke places babies at a higher risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
The HPA said that after the tax on cigarettes was raised by NT$20 per pack in 2017, the rate of exposure to secondhand smoke in homes fell from 24.3 percent to 21.1 percent in 2018, but increased to 27.1 percent in 2020 and 28.9 percent last year.
Pediatrician Chen Mu-rong (陳木榮) said at a news conference that secondhand and thirdhand smoke not only poses a threat to adults, but is also harmful to children and pregnant women.
Photo courtesy of the Health Promotion Administration
If infants younger than one year old are exposed to secondhand or thirdhand smoke, the risks of SIDS increases, and it can also lead to otitis media (an ear infection) in children, Chen said.
SIDS is the sudden and unexplained death of a baby younger than one year old. A diagnosis of SIDS is made if the baby’s death remains unexplained even after a death scene investigation, an autopsy and a clinical history review.
Chen added that secondhand or thirdhand smoke can cause cognitive deficits in children and increase the risk of asthma.
Meanwhile, if pregnant women smoke or are exposed to second-hand smoke, the risk of miscarriage, low birth weight and premature birth are also raised, he said.
Secondhand smoke is smoke from burning tobacco products, such as cigarettes, cigars, hookahs or pipes, and is the most-widespread and harmful indoor air pollutant, Chen said.
Thirdhand smoke is made up of the pollutants that settle indoors when tobacco is smoked, and can embed in hair, skin, clothes and furniture, he said.
Thirdhand smoke residue is difficult to clean and can remain in place for at least six months, he added.
Even if an individual does not smoke in front of a child, the smoke in clothes, vehicles and houses can still pose a threat to the health of family members, Chen said.
HPA Director-General Wu Chao-chun (吳昭軍) urged members of the public not to smoke, because without firsthand smoke there is no secondhand or thirdhand smoke, while reminding people that there are about 3,500 hospitals and clinics nationwide that can help people quit smoking.
The latest HPA data show that 14 out of every 100 Taiwanese aged 18 and older smoked cigarettes last year.
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