CHARLESTON AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. –
In recognition of the recent National Poison Prevention Awareness Campaign, the Charleston AFB Health and Wellness Center is alerting the public about ways to prevent childhood poisoning.
Cigarettes and cigarette butts may poison children who ingest them.
The American Association of Poison Control Centers receives more than 6,400 reports of potentially toxic exposures to tobacco products among children younger than 6 years of age in the United States. Most cases of nicotine poisoning among children result from their ingestion of cigarettes or chewing tobacco.
According to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Rhode Island Department of Health, children in households where cigarettes are smoked in their presence were four times more likely to ingest cigarettes or cigarette butts than in households where smoking does not occur around children. Most ingestions happen in homes where children are exposed to secondhand smoke and where cigarettes and ashtrays are kept within the reach of children.
"Adults who smoke in the home may not be aware of the danger of cigarettes and cigarette butts to children," said Capt. Timothy Kennard, HAWC tobacco cessation medical liaison officer from the 437th Medical Group. "Children aged 6 to 24 months of age are actively exploring their environment and often put things into their mouths. It is very important parents and caregivers store tobacco products out of the reach of children always and that they do not smoke around children because of the associated health hazards."
While minor toxic clinical effects may occur, such as vomiting, nausea, lethargy, gagging and a pale or flushed appearance, severe toxicity among children who ingested cigarettes, cigarette butts or smokeless tobacco includes depressed respiration, cardiac arrhythmia and convulsions. If ingestion does occur, a poison-control center should be consulted to assess the risks for serious toxicity and determine treatment.
In addition to preventing nicotine poisonings, avoiding the use of tobacco products in the presence of children should decrease the risk for lower respiratory and middle ear infections in children. It can also lower the risk that children will smoke in the future and children's access to lighted cigarettes, matches and cigarette lighters, thereby reducing fires started by children -- a leading cause of fire-related deaths among children younger than 5 years of age.
Parents and guardians who want to quit using tobacco through tobacco cessation classes should call the HAWC at 963-6023.