The effects of secondhand smoke on children's health are clear: it's responsible for 7,500 to 15,000 of pediatric hospitalizations for respiratory tract infections each year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reports. It also causes up to 300,000 lower respiratory tract infections in kids ages 18 months old and under. One of the most serious of these conditions is pneumonia, an infection that can be fatal in infants.
Infants' Risk
Infants are considered a high-risk group regarding pneumonia and other respiratory conditions. Secondhand smoke quickly fills up their small lungs. Babies breath faster than adults. They inhale a greater amount of the toxic chemicals in cigarette smoke compared to adults breathing in the same polluted air, the University of Pittsburgh reports. Their immune system is still developing and cannot fight off germs or foreign substances as effectively as adults. Beyond these physiological risks, infants lack the ability to complain about the irritating air or remove themselves from the environment.
How Pneumonia Develops
A strong immune system and healthy lungs can typically combat the infectious agents that cause pneumonia, viruses and bacteria. But infants who are continually exposed to passive smoke breathe in toxic chemicals that impair their lung function, causing damage to the airways and cilia. Cilia are the hair-like projections in the respiratory tract that help filter out bacteria and other invaders. Once these infectious agents get past the respiratory system's natural defenses, they cause inflammation and fluid accumulation in the lungs' air sacs -- making breathing a challenge.
Effects
A lack of a fully developed immune system coupled with lung damage from cigarette smoke makes pneumonia a severe, life-threatening condition for infants. Signs and symptoms associated with pneumonia include chest pain, wheezing, coughing, fatigue, fever, congestion, poor feedings and abdominal pain, says KidsHealth. In some cases, rapid breathing is the only outward sign of the infection. Antibiotics are often the primary treatment; however, babies with more severe cases could require hospitalization. Respiratory failure, organ failure and lung abscesses are possible effects of pneumonia. The American Lung Association cautions that complications are more likely in infants, young children and the elderly.
Other Respiratory Conditions
Secondhand smoke doesn't just increase the risk of pneumonia in infants. Greater risk for both chronic bronchitis and asthma are associated with passive smoke exposure in infants and children, particularly between the ages of 2 months and 5 years, the University of Pittsburgh reports. Upper respiratory tract infections, such as colds, are also more likely. Secondhand smoke is also linked to the risk for SIDS, or sudden infant death syndrome. While the cause of SIDS isn't understood, secondhand smoke's effect on respiratory and cardiovascular function could play a role, the University of Pittsburgh states.
