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Matthew Brooks

Emily Litle

English 121-001

10 April 2019

Smoking and Its Effects on a Child from Pre Birth to Adulthood

Millions of adult’s everyday flick a lit cigarette into the paved streets of busy highways,

crowded sidewalks, or in an old coffee can placed outside the front porch of their homes. It is the

action that happens minutes before that flick, in which four thousand chemicals are inhaled and

exhaled with every drag at the simple light of a flame. How smart is it to consume your body and

environment with chemicals multiple times on a daily basis, and what effects do these chemicals

have on the children who are present? My three sources will cover the effects of smoking during

multiple stages including pre-birth, after birth, children, youth, the environment, and the law that

covers some of these questions.

The first source I found was from the Australian Government. In this source it

automatically covers demographics, not only is this an American problem but it’s also an

Australian problem. The Australian source will focus mainly on the benefits of a smoke free

pregnancy, and the importance of having a smoke free home. The article also indicates that this

is a world issue. The second source provided a statement from the commissioner of the Federal

Drug Administration, Scott Gotltlieb. This source is a great source for understanding which

direction the American policies are heading. In his statement he covers youth addiction, and the

alternative of cigarettes known as e-cigs. Also how the FDA plans to pin point retailer’s and

illegal sales to minors. My final source comes from health children.org, I believe this is also a
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great source due to the fact that it provides actual court case evidence. In this article, the author

Fernando Urrego discusses the health risks of smoking as well as giving documented cases in

which a judge warranted rulings against a smoking parent versus a non-smoking parent. All three

sources have credible research to help form my argument.

The argument that I am setting up for my next paper is how smoking effects a child’s

health at a young age, from pre-birth leading into adult life, and the risks that also come with an

environment of consuming second hand smoke. What are the chances a child will grow up

addicted to nicotine from this environment? All my sources are bias that smoking is a risk. I

knew that would be the case before choosing this topic. I knew this because I have never heard

of anyone gaining health benefits from inhaling chemicals. All my sources cover a broad topic

on this argument. The reason for this is to find more detailed sources which back my argument in

paper four. As of now my sources cover the pre-birth effect which is important due to health

risks, child abuse which can lead to a child missing out on a valuable parent relationship, and the

alternative of e-cigs which focuses on the youth. The youth is important and I will use this as an

argument to high teen pregnancy and the effects this may cause to someone who is becoming

addicted to nicotine at an early age. All three sources act as topics that will allow me to form my

argument.

Australian Government. “Pregnancy And Quitting” Quit now, 06 18 2016,

www.quitnow.gov.au/internet/quitnow/publishing.nsf/Content/pregnancy-and-quitting.

Accessed date 4, 03 2019

In the article “Pregnancy and Quitting” by the Australian Government there is

information on unborn children and having a smoke free baby. Not only does this article cover

the mother that smokes but it also speaks to the significant other whether it be the father or not. It
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is not necessarily an argument but information suggesting the benefits of not smoking to its

audience. The important information provided is the benefits of a smoke free pregnancy, and

material on second hand smoke for partners.

The goal of this source is to cover not only the direct individual involved in smoking but

also the partner who is involved in the process. The source offers information like “making your

car and home a smoke free zone” (Australian Govt. 2). The statement applies for someone who

needs time to stop smoking, the government calls it “in the meantime” (2). This is a reliable

source being that it comes from a Government site. The Australian Government of course is bias

as they should be. I do not feel anyone in his or her right mind would think smoking and second

hand smoke is for the better of anything other than self-pleasure. This article is different from my

other sources for the fact it focuses on before birth and the partner of the pregnant individual.

The Australian source is helpful to my paper because it covers the dynamics of pre-birth,

after-birth, and environmental factors. This helps me shape my argument from the very

beginning of conception all the way to adulthood. In everyday life, I walk by cigarette smoke and

gag, for some reason the smell does not fit well with my senses. I tend to focus on the smoke, but

the research helps me put a full picture together on how that smoke is bad for my own health.

Even though I am a U.S. citizen, I feel the source speaks to the human race as a whole. Inhaling

smoke is the same in America as it is in Australia.

Federal Drug Administration, “Statement from FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D., on new

steps to address epidemic of youth e- cigarette use.” FDA Press Release, September 12,

2018
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The article that will be discussed is “Statement from FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb

MD, on new steps to address epidemic of youth e-cig use” by the Federal Drug Association. The

FDA Commissioner gave a Press Release on September 12, 2018. The purpose of this release

was to inform the audience that “while it’s the addiction to nicotine that keeps people smoking,

its primarily the combustion, which releases thousands of harmful constituents into the body at

dangerous levels, that kills people” (FDA Statement par. 4). However, a new epidemic has taken

over teens the last few years and that is e-cigs. Although even the combustion effect has been

taken out of the picture now comes mass addictions to nicotine. As a

result, the commissioner has taken action against retail and the distribution of e-cigs.

In the statement, Gottlieb addresses the health risks of cigarettes, its alternative e-cigs,

and the plan to enforce these concerns. “This spring […] issuing fifty-six warning letters and six

civil monetary penalties […] were announcing the largest ever coordinated initiative against

violated sales in the history of the FDA” (FDA 3). This is of importance given the fact that many

youth are attracted to the various flavor e-cigs manufacture. The commissioner is also bias in this

statement as well and given the explosion of e-cigs appeal to youth he should be. This statement

also differs from my first sources due to the focus of emphasis on e-cigs. E-cigs have become an

alternative to taking the flame away from tobacco but not the nicotine. This is a credible source

because it is a statement from the FDA Commissioner.

This statement helps my paper by proving even though taking all the chemicals out of a

cigarette there are still health problems that effect youth. Nicotine is the main contribution to

addiction, and the FDA will not allow mass amounts of youth to become addicted in theory. This

is the plan of action to fight against the distribution of e-cigs. I recently watched on the news that

Washington became the first state in 2019 to change the purchase of tobacco from the age of
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eighteen-years to twenty-one. E-cigs contribute to an addiction starting as a youth into

adulthood. This helps my argument because of the high teen pregnancy rates in the world and the

children effected by teen mothers who smoke.

Urrego, Fernando, “Second Hand Smoke and Child Custody”, American Academy of Pediatrics,

Sept.9 2017. www.healthychildren.org, accessed 29 March 2019

In the article“Second hand Smoke and Child Custody” written by Fernando Urrego

reviews the health risks of smoking cigarettes around children and how it effects health, as well

as child abuse risks associated with parents who smoke. Urrego aims to show what smoke filled

risks are associated with cigarettes. He also evaluates cases that took place in which custody of

the smoking parent of a child was evaluated and effected by the decision of a judge.

Urrego’s article encloses that “cigarettes contain four thousand chemicals, many of which

can cause cancer” (1). The article lists six smoke filled risks associated with second hand smoke

“Asthma, respiratory infections, chronic cough and other lung problems, ear infections, sudden

infant death syndrome, and the risks of fires involved with lit cigarettes left within the reach of a

child” (Urrego 1). Rather than just focusing on health effects alone Urrego also speaks about the

legal implications a parent may face while being a smoker. An example Urrego gives of this

would be a “Louisiana case where the judge limited a father’s visitation rights after his son

developed asthma and respiratory infections” (Urrego 2). Urrego touches on both health and law

which I believe makes this a great source. Urrego also backs up his points with cases that prove

his research credible.

The article fits into my research of smoking and the effects it has on children. Not only is

it a health issue but what caught my attention was that there have been rulings go against a parent
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who smokes. This is new to myself because when I think of smoking I only think of the health

effects, and the foul smell. I can use the example of the Louisiana case in my project because

divorce and separation are a part of life and it may help a mother or father deliberate on

continuing to smoke.