{Did you know?}

That THIRD hand smoke can be deadly to children?! I always knew the dangers of Second- hand smoke, but never realized that third hand smoke could be so dangerous. I was watching The Doctors today where i learned this information. Parents will say that they don't smoke around their children, BUT the residue left behind-all the chemicals-can be found in the children's urine samples. Yes, they did urine samples on kids whose parents do not smoke around them, but found that toxins were getting into their system. They also said that the residuals left behind from smoke contains 250 cancerous chemicals....all can be deadly to children. I mean, this is anywhere. When you go anywhere where you can smell smoke, if your kids touch it, it can be dangerous...hotel room, someone's smokey clothes, a house, an apartment, etc. Crazy huh?!

I am very protective of my kids around smoke. Not only b/c it is so dangerous, but because Tanner was born with what is called...alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency. Alpha 1-antitrypsin (A1AT) is produced in the liver, and one of its functions is to protect the lungs from the neutrophil elastase enzyme, which can disrupt connective tissue. It is hard to explain, but the Doctors were like, "Don't let him around smoke at all and make sure he NEVER smokes b/c he is at great risk of getting lung cancer or emphyzema if he is around it OR does it." Good thing we aren't smokers. And if he ever wants to "experiment"...well, i will inform him of his problem and hopefully that makes him not interested anymore! :) Luckily, his case isn't the severe kind and is limited to that one restriction... though i do believe all his wheezing he gets whenever he gets a cold is from this deficiency. So, anyway, anytime there is a smoker being careless and not thinking about what they are doing to others around them it makes me so angry. If i have to i will say something, BUT luckily the laws about smoking keep me from igniting my fury and firing off at someone. :)