Stopping smoking is one of the best things anyone can do to protect the health of their children through pregnancy and beyond. If the parents or carers of children are not able to, or don’t want to stop smoking, the next best option is to make sure that no one smokes inside the home, car or in front of the children.

Breathing in other people’s tobacco smoke ( is also known as secondhand, passive or involuntary smoking) . Secondhand smoke can immediately crease eye and throat irritation, headaches and coughs.   
Over the longer term, breathing in secondhand smoke can increase a person’s risk of later developing heart disease and cancer.

Children are more likely to become unwell after breathing in secondhand smoke than adults. This is because their lungs are still developing and they breathe faster, which means they breathe in more smoke than adults. Children who live in a home where someone smokes inside are more likely to get the flu, bronchitis, pneumonia, asthma, glue ear, ear infections, asthma and meningitis. Smoking in the home has also been linked to increased chances of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). There is no such thing as a ‘safe amount’ of secondhand smoke.

There is also a risk to children’s health from ‘thirdhand’ smoke. Thirdhand smoke occurs in a home or car that has been smoked in for a long time, even if no one is smoking when your child is in the room. The home will probably smell of smoke and you might notice yellow nicotine stains on the walls, carpets or furniture. It can be dangerous for a child to touch these surfaces because they could be exposed to a lot of the dangerous chemicals in tobacco smoke.

The Royal College of Physicians has estimated that every year in the UK children’s exposure to secondhand smoke results in:

• over 20,000 cases of lower respiratory tract infection
• 120,000 cases of middle ear disease
• at least 22,000 new cases of wheeze and asthma
• 200 cases of bacterial meningitis
• 40 sudden infant deaths – one in five of all Sudden Infant Deaths

Other people who are particularly at risk from the effects of secondhand smoke include pregnant women and people with pre-existing heart or respiratory illnesses like asthma, COPD or emphysema. It was estimated that in 2003 secondhand smoke was responsible for approximately 12,200 deaths a year in the UK. Most of these deaths were nonsmokers living with family member who smoked.

Secondhand smoke is so dangerous to children in small spaces that it is illegal to smoke inside a car (or van or other vehicle) with a child or young person. Find out more information about Smoking in vehicles.

Supporting parents and carers to stop smoking

People who are trying to get pregnant or who think they may become pregnant should stop smoking as soon as possible, before they are pregnant. The best way to protect a growing baby is to not smoke at all.

If a woman finds out that she is pregnant and wants to stop smoking, she is 4 times more likely to successfully quit if she uses the help available from a specialist stop smoking service, than trying to quit using willpower alone. To get help to stop smoking, the family should speak to their Midwife or GP.

Medicine to help people stop smoking (also known as Nicotine Replacement Therapy or ‘NRT’) is available for people using a stop smoking service. NRT can also be bought from pharmacies and GPs. Most people know these as patches or gum but don’t realise how best to use them, so it is always a good idea to speak to a professional for advice.

For the best chances of quitting, people should use support from a stop smoking service or the free NHS personal quit plan.

Many people are now choosing to use electronic cigarettes (‘e-cigs’ or ‘vapes’) to help them to stop smoking. Vaping is now the most effective way to quit smoking. Vaping is not recommended for children or for people who do not smoke. For people who smoke, vaping carries only a tiny amount of the health risks of smoking.

Find out more information about Vaping to quit smoking.

Key Messages

For anyone working with parents, grandparents and other carers who smoke, it’s important to motivate them to improve the health of their family. You should promote the following key messages:

• The best thing that parents and carers can do for their health and the health of their family is to quit smoking and make their homes and cars smoke-free.
• If you are not ready to quit, do not smoke indoors, leaning out of a window, in doorways or in your car (even with the window open). 80% of secondhand smoke is invisible. Smoke from one cigarette can linger in a room for up to two and a half hours even with a window open.
• Do not allow others to smoke in your home or car.
• If there is a need to smoke, go outside and move well away from doors and windows.
• The best way of stopping smoking is with a combination of specialist support from a local stop smoking service and NRT or vapes.
• Nicotine replacement therapy (e.g. an inhalator, nicotine patches, lozenges, sublingual tablet, mouth or nasal spray, or gum) can help people quit.
• Vapes can be an effective way of stopping smoking but should not be used by children or young people.
• Children who live with parents or siblings who smoke are up to 3 times more likely to become smokers themselves than children of non-smoking households. Do not smoke in front of your children.