In the state of California, it is illegal to smoke in a vehicle in the presence of persons under the age of 18. Some people have argued that if the minors are one's own kids, than such action should be allowed. However, it is proven that smoking causes a number of health problems, athsma and lung cancer to name a few.
However, it has also been said that physical disciplinary action is considered child abuse. Now, why would a self-imposed punishment, which leaves no permanent damage be considered abuse, when an unprovoked ride in a smoke-filled car, which causes permanent, often serious damage be allowed?
Smoking should just be banned, period. It does nothing but harms you, the butt of the ciggerete is often left on the ground/thrown out the window, no one likes second hand smoke, and leaves a smell wherever it is, clothes, buildings, people.
So yes, i'd say it's child abuse to smoke around a kid. You're effectively forcing them to breathe smoke.
prohibition is never a good way to handle a drug. Though I have to say smoking in a car with a non smoker or child not only can be harmful to others but is just plain rude. As for the question I'm not sure I would call it child abuse, but I don't think it should be allowed.
as my grandfather once said (may he rest in peace) "Having a smoking section in a restaurant is like having a pissing section in a pool"
just thought I'd throw that out there for luls
now... I wonder why its illegal to mix ammonia and bleach together and keep a child locked in the room w/ the solution? ...maybe because it is deadly toxic and can kill them... or cause health issues later in life due to damage that never healed. now... second hand smoke may not kill you instantly like the chlorine gas expelled from mixing the two mentioned liquids... but it can cause serious damage to the kid over time. if its their parent smoking then the child has no say in whether or not they'd like to breathe in that crap. The parent is going to smoke around them if they want to regardless.
when you inhale smoke/dust/whatever kind of particles that don't belong in your lungs into your lungs your lungs produce chemicals to break down the large chunks of crap into smaller chunks so the vili in your lungs will be able to move it back up and out of your airways. when it releases this chemical this chemical not only breaks down the crap it breaks down the structural proteins of your lungs. Its not a matter of if you'll get emphyzema (unless you die in a car wreck or some other unnatural circumstance) ....its a matter of when you get emphyzema. The broken down structural proteins don't come back. over time more and more damage happens until its full blown emphyzema... and that's not even mentioning the carcinogens you puff out that could cause the kid cancer later on in life. ...basically... if you screw the kid up as a kid then he's screwed up for a life time. and since this damage isn't reversible... its abuse. its the same concept of taking a knife and gradually giving a kid more and more scars from small scratches w/ the knife throughout his/her childhood. ...except that kid will be able to breathe w/o a problem. Smoking gets to the point where you don't even get much out of it... you just do it so you feel normal and so you don't crave nicotine. (or so I've heard)
just because it doesn't out right kill the kid like mixing ammonia and bleach doesn't mean its not harming them significantly. its the smoker's decision to smoke... but the child has no say in breathing the second hand smoke when their parents don't care.
I think that it is child abuse. In America, the 9th amendment protects the rights of individuals not listed in the federal or states constitutions, but you cannot force other unwilling individuals to have to do something harmful.
I think that smoking in an enclosed space like a car with a kid is child abuse. However, while I am against smoking I doubt we will be able to stop people smoking on streets and if the kid has any sense they would move away from the smoke. So smoking on a street is not child abuse.
I would say it's abuse to smoke around anyone. All you are doing is harming yourself, and those around you. The problem with banning it is that it won't discourage people from doing it, as is the case with illegal drugs. Banning it is probably the right course of action anyways because whatever impact it may have, it's still an impact.
It is a bad influence and if you have children your should really try to quit.
Why anyone even starts...it costs money to harm yourself and at the very least annoy anyone around you. I mean seriously, do people think that it's a good idea to inhale smoke? There's a reason people cough after doing so...your body doesn't like it.
I agree. Smoking around children is not child abuse. However, I do believe that if you purposely smoke around a child, intending to harm him, than that is child abuse.
I have breathed in second hand smoke from my father, and it isn't fun. Letting your child breathe in second hand smoke is simply rude and careless. But it isn't child abuse, there is a fine line between careless and purposely abusing your children.
Why anyone even starts...it costs money to harm yourself and at the very least annoy anyone around you. I mean seriously, do people think that it's a good idea to inhale smoke? There's a reason people cough after doing so...your body doesn't like it.
I've seen how bad it is to people and I would hate how people would allow children to have to breathe it in. Not sure if it's exactly child abuse but it is wrong.
Not exactly retaining to this, but someone was talking about mixing amonia and bleach. That creates mustard gas, which litterly sucks the air out of your lungs and suffacates you. Just saying, that it would kill you in a matter of secands, unlike secand hand smokeing. So, not trying to be off topic, but that was a poor comparison.
