Do you disapprove of smoking around kids? A friend of mine has a fit whenever anyone smokes around her kids....second hand smoke, bad influence, etc. Any anti-smoking excuse is justification for her. I don't think it's a big deal. What about you?

There is no across the board response to this. I think smokers need to have respect for it. For example, a friend of mine actually lit up in a restaurant (before it was banned here) with my son along. I was offended by that, but don't feel like him having to endure that would make him sick or worse off, other than to have to breath the nasty. So, I bit my tongue for the first cig. She lit a second, and I spoke up.

But, on the other side of it, I know someone who married a man who owns a vacation cabin with a few other families. Once she had kids she thought that the other owners should not even smoke outside around the campfire with the kids around. That is kind of b.s. It's not as if they were smoking in the cabin.

So, I think parents need to know when it is right to speak up and when to remove their kids from the situation.

I'm allergic to cigarette smoke and I wouldn't want someone smoking around my kids. I turned down a part-time job because the Dad was a heavy smoker and being in the house just a few minutes was enough to set me off. I know that if my kids clothes came home wreaking of smoke, I'd have a hard time and would have to get my hubby to do the laundry, so I prefer people not smoke around my kids. If it's an open area like a park, and my kids aren't going to be close enough to inhale, I'd be more okay with it but given my allergies, I wouldn't want their clothes picking up the scent.

When I was a kid, the neighbors right across the street from us were a little boy, his mother and what was essentially his nanny, and they both smoked...I didn't mind the smell when we went over for birthdays but my mother couldn't breathe because she's that sensitive to it...and as for kids...with all the numbers on second hand smoke related cancers and other illnesses, I think it's better not to start that, especially around babies, if somebody tried that in my house I'd be ' Oh hell no!'

I am not sure we should legally mandate it but I think smokers need to be considerate enough to not do it. By forcing everybody else to inhale your smoke, you just make smokers look selfish and inconsiderate, especially if you do it around children.

Forgiveness Man wrote:

I am not sure we should legally mandate it but I think smokers need to be considerate enough to not do it. By forcing everybody else to inhale your smoke, you just make smokers look selfish and inconsiderate, especially if you do it around children.

This.

I guess smoker's could be considerate and do their smoking away from the baby. I find it funny, the air we breath is full of pollutants and people seem more concerned with cigarette smoke being hazardous to your health. I myself have been around smokers for years, since I was a kid and it dosen't bother me.

Unless the child has respiratory issues, and so long as they aren't blowing smoke in their faces, it doesn't much bother me.

Chris wrote:

Unless the child has respiratory issues, and so long as they aren't blowing smoke in their faces, it doesn't much bother me.

Chris wrote:

Unless the child has respiratory issues, and so long as they aren't blowing smoke in their faces, it doesn't much bother me.

It doesn't make a damn bit of difference if they blow the smoke in anyone's face or do one of those assinine exhales from the side of their mouth in the other direction. Even when smoking was allowed in publc, having a smoking section in a restaurant was like having a peeing section in a pool.

I'd prefer that you don't.

Shale wrote:

I am really surprised at the number of lax, uninformed comments to this question from otherwise intelligent ppl.

I don't understand these responses either, Shale!

It's highly irresponsible to be smoking around children. Everyone knows smoke is not good for the lungs - why wouldn't people care if someone smoked around their child? My Mom never let my Dad smoke around me, though he was a chain smoker till he died - and I say good for her. If you want to smoke and tear out your lungs, go right ahead, but don't you try it around my child.

I was raised around a family of smokers. Both my parents smoke, both sets of my grandparents smoked, 90% of all of my aunts and uncles (on both sides) do too and at least 50% of my friends (lady friends included) are smokers. In the meantime, I never had a cigarette in my life and to this day am cancer-free, despite how much I've been around it all my life. The same rings true to my brother, sister, cousins and just about every other non-smoker that I know.

If people don't want smoke in their house, then they can regulate that. But unless the space is yours, all that "don't smoke around me" or "don't smoke around my child" crap is crap.

Even as a non-smoker, I find anti-smokers pretentious and superstitious. In cases like TSJ's, where someone is allergic to it, fine. I can see where she's coming from. And if she's decent enough to politely ask someone not to smoke around her because of her allergies to it, then ok. But that arrogant "you really shouldn't do that ... it's bad for you ..." looking down your nose at people who choose to smoke is going nowhere, and if I were a smoker I wouldn't placate someone's pretend moral objection to it.

If you have that much of a problem with smoking, don't bring your child around to where smokers are or can be. But don't tell someone else to not light up because yours and your baby's nostrils are too damn oversensitive to even the prospect of breathing in cigarette smoke from a reasonable distance.

JM130ELM wrote:

I was raised around a family of smokers. Both my parents smoke, both sets of my grandparents smoked, 90% of all of my aunts and uncles (on both sides) do too and at least 50% of my friends (lady friends included) are smokers. In the meantime, I never had a cigarette in my life and to this day am cancer-free, despite how much I've been around it all my life. The same rings true to my brother, sister, cousins and just about every other non-smoker that I know.

If people don't want smoke in their house, then they can regulate that. But unless the space is yours, all that "don't smoke around me" or "don't smoke around my child" crap is crap.

Even as a non-smoker, I find anti-smokers pretentious and superstitious. In cases like TSJ's, where someone is allergic to it, fine. I can see where she's coming from. And if she's decent enough to politely ask someone not to smoke around her because of her allergies to it, then ok. But that arrogant "you really shouldn't do that ... it's bad for you ..." looking down your nose at people who choose to smoke is going nowhere, and if I were a smoker I wouldn't placate someone's pretend moral objection to it.

If you have that much of a problem with smoking, don't bring your child around to where smokers are or can be. But don't tell someone else to not light up because yours and your baby's nostrils are too damn oversensitive to even the prospect of breathing in cigarette smoke from a reasonable distance.

JM130ELM wrote:

I was raised around a family of smokers. Both my parents smoke, both sets of my grandparents smoked, 90% of all of my aunts and uncles (on both sides) do too and at least 50% of my friends (lady friends included) are smokers. In the meantime, I never had a cigarette in my life and to this day am cancer-free, despite how much I've been around it all my life. The same rings true to my brother, sister, cousins and just about every other non-smoker that I know.

If people don't want smoke in their house, then they can regulate that. But unless the space is yours, all that "don't smoke around me" or "don't smoke around my child" crap is crap.

Even as a non-smoker, I find anti-smokers pretentious and superstitious. In cases like TSJ's, where someone is allergic to it, fine. I can see where she's coming from. And if she's decent enough to politely ask someone not to smoke around her because of her allergies to it, then ok. But that arrogant "you really shouldn't do that ... it's bad for you ..." looking down your nose at people who choose to smoke is going nowhere, and if I were a smoker I wouldn't placate someone's pretend moral objection to it.

If you have that much of a problem with smoking, don't bring your child around to where smokers are or can be. But don't tell someone else to not light up because yours and your baby's nostrils are too damn oversensitive to even the prospect of breathing in cigarette smoke from a reasonable distance.

Same here. Over seventy percent of my family are smokers too; both of my parents smoke as well, as does my eldest sister. My daughters mother also smokes. And even though I don't smoke myself, I am just used to people doing it. I wouldn't want someone holding my newborn baby while a cigarette hung out of their mouth, but I wouldn't be offended if at a family get together Uncle whoever lit up while my child is in the same room.

Chris wrote:

... but I wouldn't be offended if at a family get together Uncle whoever lit up while my child is in the same room.

You Should!

Any parent who allows their child to breath secondhand smoke is negligent in caring for their child's health.

Sorry, just one of those harsh 'opinions' that happen to be supported with fact!

Secondhand smoke sickens millions and kills more than 600,000 people worldwide each year, including more than 160,000 children under 5, according to the first World Health Organization report to estimate the worldwide burden of disease and death from tobacco.

USA TODAY, November 26, 2010