If my wife and I smoke outside and not around the baby can the baby still be affected?

Question

I have heard that even if you smoke outside and not around your baby that the smell, or lingering affect of cigarette smoke on your clothes and skin and in your hair can still adversely affect the baby. I was wondering if this is true or not? I quit smoking when i found out but the wife doesn't want to believe it so i am gathering sources to prove to her it can and try to get her to quit.

Answer 1

for ppl who have never smoked; get off your high horse, it is not an easy thing to do regardless...if your wife insists on smoking outside away from the baby, and not in the car with the baby, then have her wash her hands and maybe swish with listerine, change her shirt before handling baby.....ppl are so insane when it comes to things.....and you cannot say that it will cause SIDS...secondhand smoke is smoke that is inhaled as the smoker exhales not the smell left on their clothes...yes it is a risk factor for sids...but if the baby isn't getting secondhand and your wife is careful...if she has longer hair i would also suggest she pull her hair up when she smokes so that less is trapped in her hair...THEY DO NOT KNOW WHAT CAUSES SIDS....SO YOU CANNOT SAY THAT IT WILL CAUSE SIDS; there are a ton of risk factors and i am sure some of the ppl bashing her are breaking at least one of the recommendations, so give her a break.....quitting smoking is one of the hardest things somebody can do, and as it is an ADDICTION, not just something she enjoys, you can't MAKE her quit; why not instead present her with what you have found, see how she feels about it and see if she is willing to try the gum, patch. lozenges , etc....that may help her get over the rough part...some ppl  can just lay them down, others cannot...as a mother i would say that if she hasn't quit then she falls into the ADDICTION category instead of the HABIT category....good luck and i hope all goes well and she is able to quit with minimal discomfort for all 3 of your sakes....

Answer 2

yes it true  i have a son with ear probables the doctor say that the 2hand smoke cause it  plus the a tv add on by age 5 a child smoke 500 pack from 2 hand smoke i know it hard to quit i am a smoker 2 Americancancer  health department doctor office 2 all those are a start  

Answer 3

Not unless you take a shower and change your clothes before you touch your baby. I congratulate you on quitting for the sake of your baby. I know it must be very hard but you obviously care about the health of your child. Hopefully your wife will be able to make the same sacrifice. The choice to stop is not only going to benefit your baby but you as well.

Answer 4

dnt smoke period.

Answer 5

if you are in a car and your wife enters after smoking a cigarette, you can smell it on her loads. well this is what the baby smells but 3 times as much, as he is a baby and very young his sense of smell is more delicate and as your wife will be holding the baby close the smell will be more intense.

Also, you didnt state the age of the baby, but if your wife is still breastfeeding then you are feeding the baby milk that has come from the body of a smoker = thats your baby might as well be smoking.

Answer 6

Smoking in any case is bad.

its true it does stick to your clothes, but it won't significantly harm the baby. I have been around smokers my whole life, from birth, now I am 19 years old and going to college, in the best shape of my life. I can't imagine I would be any better today if my parents didn't smoke around me.

I know people who have 1'st hand smoked for 60 years and barely have side effects...so I don't understand how 2'nd hand smoke can harm me AT ALL.

God Bless

Answer 7

Of course it does, it's on your clothes hair, breath and otherwise.

But she knows that, I guarantee you she already knows it.  I am a smoker and my husband and I went rounds about it because the reality is "It's REALLY scary and hard to think about quitting"

It's easier to say "I don't want to, I have it under control" than admit that you can't quit.

Instead of using Yahoo to gang up on her (my husband did similar things) which doesn't work, try talking to her about her fears.  Encourage her that she can do this.  Also talk to a dr. about things that can help her.  There are pills that help as well as things such as water filters to take, as my dad put it, "the fun out of smoking"

My husband finally got this, and now I am working through fears towards quitting, with his help, encouragement and understanding.  But ganging up on someone makes them defensive, and it doesn't help, it will shut her down.  My husband quit smoking 5 years ago, he just put it down and doesn't do it.  He was lucky, no withdrawls, no problems, he just did it.  I am not that lucky, and he had a hard time understanding that.

Sit down with her, tell her you love her, that you know this is difficult, scary, and you know she would do it if she could.  Ask what you can do to help her, and love her anyways.  If she tries and fails, encourage her not to give up. Talk about many different ways to accomplish this, tell her she is not the only one addicted to this awful drug.

Answer 8

Yessss!! Smoke stays on you!! even if you wash it off!! I would rather not smoke at all!!!

Answer 9

YES it's very true!  You did good by quitting and I'm surprised your wife still smokes...didn't she quit when she got pregnant?

Answer 10

yes it true, very true. just ask your doctor.... even the smell from cig smoke can cause sids. good for you putting your baby first, what an awesome dad. wish there were more smart ones out there.

Answer 11

yes it can harm any one who is near + you are harming the environment that your children will be living in. do not smoke!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 12

Here is an article that you can use in your main argument against the "smoking outside is okay" standpoint: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/200...

Here is an additional article with more general information on tobacco: http://www.drugabuse.gov/Infofacts/Tobac...

Here's a clearing house of sorts on articles on kids (including parental influences) and smoking: http://www.ash.org/kids.html

You should be able to find more than enough information to support completely quitting smoking if you even roughly sift through those articles.

Answer 13

yes it can hurt the baby. people say that second hand smoking is sometimes worse than first hand smoking and especially if the other person is a baby you guys are its role models your supposed to be setting a good example. and plus if your wife can develop lung cancer and possibly die but if she does get lung cancer she will have to go through treatment and how would that effect your kid emmotionaly when they get older.

Answer 14

Of course. Your baby won't only get affected but adapt the enviroment he's in. If both of you still smoke around while your baby is growing up, expect that he will also be a smoker in the future. My advice is you must now stop from smoking if you don't want your baby to get affected. You must set a very good example to him. You already know the negative effects of smoking right? Food price commodities are rising, so if you want to save big money for future purposes, especially if you want your child to get into private schools where the best education can be found.  

Answer 15

yes it can.. good luck w/ everything.

Answer 16

Yes it can because the wind blows the smoke through the door cracks and at some point the smoke will reach the baby!!!!!!!!! And also the smoke gets ubsorbed into the clothings fabricks and it absorbs into every thing!

Answer 17

yes it can.

Answer 18

it's stays on you...and it smells really bad so yeah quit.

how do you stand that?

Answer 19

I'm not gonna give u replicas of everyone's answers.. Theyre all wrong. Our lungs aren't THAT sensitive.. Sure a baby's lungs would be a lil more sensitive than an adult's, but unless that baby's living inside a streile plastic bubble, s/he will always have to breathe in air that wont be 100% clean. The baby can be healthy yet breathe air from outside (which contains car exhaust fume gases in a small concentration - but hey, its still there right?)

Sure, quiting smoking will make less of an effect on the babys lungs (if there actually IS an effect - which i doubt, since u guys dont smoke around it). But this reduced effect really wont make any difference.

Its like putting 20 grains of sugar into your mug instead of 23.. The 23 grains themselves dont make much of an effect.. So changing to 20 grains does nothing ;p

Answer 20

HOORAY to you for quitting! It isn't easy, but having a baby makes it easier to quit because you feel like you're quitting for a purpose... that is, if improving your health isn't enough purpose.  Even if you smoke outside, the smoke you bring in on your hair, skin and clothes is residual and it's enough to affect a baby. Especially a new born. It's possible that he/she will develop asthma or other breathing disorders.  

Answer 21

It's just a baby who cares if it starts developing cancer

Answer 22

I think you and your wife should not be smoking period.

Simply because not only can it effect the baby, but it can effect you.

The baby can still sense the smell of a cigarette on your breath, in your hair and clothes, AND, if it gets use to the smell, it might get asthma.

Answer 23

smoking is bad, i know, i smoke too,but if you are really worried about your kid and your wife wont quit, demand that she wear a shower cap, change her clothes after and vigorously wash her face and hands after each smoke.  the smoke goes right into your clothes and hair.

Answer 24

smoking in general is bad and yes; it can harm the baby

the cigarette smoke goes into your pores - and into hair and clothes .. you should no be smoking

Answer 25

OK THIS IS THE  TRUTH BE LEAVE IT OR NOT...IT DOES NOT MATTER IF YOU SMOKE OUTSIDE AND THE BABY IS INSIDE THE SMELL OF THE CIG STAYS ON YOUR CLOTHS AND WHEN YOU GO NEAR YOUR CHILD IT PICKS UP THAT SMELL AND THAT SMELL IS 10x WORSE THEN SECOND HAND SMOKE

Answer 26

Ditto on all the above answers, but more importantly, did she smoke during her pregnancy?

Answer 27

No it does not. After awhile you can smoke back in the house. You don't have to hide it, and feel like hypocrites like others do.