Secondhand Smoke and Children
Children in Louisiana are exposed to secondhand cigarette smoke in a variety of environments. In fact, more than 294,000 Louisiana children under the age of 18 and 91,000 children under the age of five routinely share breathing space with smokers in their own homes. Secondhand smoke exposure poses a variety of health risks to children. For example:

The risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is doubled in households with a smoking parent.
Secondhand smoke causes up to two million cases of chronic middle ear infection annually.
Nationally, 436,000 cases of bronchitis and 190,000 cases of pneumonia in children under the age of five are caused by secondhand smoke each year.

Secondhand smoke increases the rates of the following illnesses among children: bronchitis, pneumonia, sinusitis, cystic fibrosis, ear infections, rhinitis, and sore throats.

Copy of Act 838 - It is illegal to smoke in a vehicle with children under the age of 13.

What is Secondhand Smoke?
Secondhand smoke is a combination of the smoke in the air from a burning cigarette and the smoke exhaled by a person who is smoking. Secondhand smoke is the number one source of indoor air pollution and contains nearly 5,000 chemical compounds, including arsenic, a dangerous poison; formaldehyde, which is also used in embalming fluid; and hydrogen cyanide, another toxic poison. Like asbestos, secondhand smoke has been classified as a "Class A" carcinogen, or cancer-causing substance, by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Only 13 other substances are considered as dangerous to human health.

Secondhand smoke kills 53,000 nonsmokers nationally each year, and is known to cause the following illnesses:
Lung cancer
Heart disease
Nasal sinus cancer
Respiratory disease
Bronchitis
Middle ear infections
Asthma
Pneumonia