Put That Lighter Away.

Don't smoke, you'll get cancer! Don't smoke, your lungs will turn to tar! Don't smoke, your teeth will turn yellow! Most people have been hearing these messages since the fifth grade. Most people know as well that second hand smoke can do just as much damage. Yet, in St. Charles area restaurants, there is always the possibilty of seeing a parent smoking right in front of their baby! Apparently the parents who blow smoke in their own childrens' faces missed the memo that two things should never be put together-- kids and smoke.

While in the Saint Charles area, it is legal to smoke in restaurants. People have the right to smoke while eating their dinner and are free to smoke whenever they wish on their own private property. Technically, we are free to smoke wherever it is legal no matter who is around.

Does that mean it's okay to contaminate a child's lungs with smoke? No. Smoking in front of your baby is like taking his or her life span and chopping off by about 10 years. Just because in our area there is the freedom of smoking in a restaurant, in your car, or in your own home, doesn't mean it's right to subject a baby or child to toxic fumes. It seems like a smoker could put away the cigarettes just until they are out of children's range because:

• Smoking is deadly. The second hand smoke inhaled can cause cancer of lungs, brain, bladder, larynx, etc. (need I go on?) and has been linked with leukemia in kids. As well as killing kids with cancer, second-hand smoke from parents also leads to delayed lung development, bronchitis, asthma attacks, and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Basically, second-hand smoke can sentence a child to an unwanted life of medical maladies. 
• Children don't have a say. Being stuck in a confined space with a smoker is like being stuck in a hosptital room full of patients with infectious diseases-- there is no way to protect oneself from harm. Kids haven't chosen to smoke on their own. Babies haven't chosen to smoke on their own. However, they still must be slowly poisoned because their parent won't wait until they aren't around. Really people, can you not wait a few minutes? 
• It may badly influence the child. Parents are there to be a good role model for their kids. What message does it send if a parent constantly smokes in front of their kid? The child may think to himself or herself and say, "If mom can smoke, why shouldn't I?" Parents should keep these points in mind when they're about to pull out another cigarette.

The message is clear. Parents smoking in front of their kids is wrong. If parents want them to be hacking up their lungs in the future, then yes, they should go right ahead and keep smoking in front of them. If they want a healthy child with a bright, easy-breathing future, then parents should wait until they can be alone to smoke. It is simple to wait, walk out, or relocate to smoke.

Parents, please, spare your child the second-hand smoke. Find another place to go! No children should have to breathe in fumes against their will-- especially if it could kill them.