English Writing Assignment

Running head: PROTECTING CHILDREN 1

PROTECTING CHILDREN 5

Protecting Children from Secondhand Smoke

Esther T. Example

Abstract

Research has proven that secondhand smoke is harmful, particularly to children. For this reason, some states have implemented laws forbidding smoking in cars containing children, a measure that some feel should be expanded to include smoking around children in the car or home (any enclosed space) and implemented across the United States. Others argue that such measures would be an overreach by the government, not to mention impossible to adequately and consistently enforce. This essay examines both sides of this problem and offers comprehensive research, including qualitative field research, to aid in analyzing and understanding the issue and answer the question, “Should smoking around children be considered a form of child abuse?”

Protecting Children from Secondhand Smoke

Introduction

According to the Centers for Disease Control (2015), smoking cigarettes “harms nearly every organ of the body”; furthermore, nearly one in five deaths in the United States can be traced back to cigarette smoking. Cigarette smoking can negatively impact even those who don’t smoke themselves, since there is “no safe level of exposure for secondhand smoke” (American Cancer Society, 2015). Given these alarming assertions, many wonder if the law should better protect children from secondhand smoke. After all, adults are held legally responsible if they don’t follow regulations regarding car seats and seatbelts for children, yet smoking is responsible for more deaths than illegal drug use, HIV, gun-related incidents, alcohol use, and car accidents combined (Centers for Disease Control [CDC], 2015). Thus, it seems strange that adults across America aren’t prohibited from smoking around children in enclosed spaces, including private vehicles and residences. While some would like to see laws prohibiting smoking around children in enclosed spaces become standard across the U.S., others object that the government should not have so great a right to interfere in American homes and families. For that matter, could such laws even be adequately and consistently enforced? The question of whether smoking around children should be banned under national child abuse laws comes down to practicality and individual autonomy verses the need to protect children from the documented ill effects of secondhand smoke.

That secondhand smoke (SHS) has ill effects, especially on children, is incontrovertible, based on research going back over 30 years. A 2008 ethical analysis of the impact of secondhand smoke on children notes that children “are particularly vulnerable to the deleterious effects of SHS because of their smaller, immature, and developing organs,” and that SHS is associated with a range of detrimental health effects, including sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and a host of lung and respiratory problems (Jarvie & Malone, 2008, p. 2141). Even adults who take measures to limit children’s exposure to secondhand smoke may be risking those children’s health, as the American Cancer Society (2015) insists that “[t]here is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS). Any exposure is harmful.” The research shows that adults who smoke in a car or in a home where children are present, even in another room, are risking their children’s health. Interestingly, this is not new information. In 1986 the U.S. Surgeon General concluded that “smoking is a cause of disease, including cancer, in healthy nonsmokers,” and in 1993, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) classified secondhand smoke as a known, potentially deadly carcinogen, one that is especially dangerous to children (Anderson, 2009, pp. 362-3).

Despite this clear evidence that SHS poses a real danger to children, currently only eight states and Puerto Rico have laws forbidding smoking in cars containing children (from under eight to under 18), and nowhere is it illegal to smoke around children in the home, though family courts might take parents’ smoking habits under consideration in determining custody and visitation rights (American Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation [ANRF], n.d.; Public Health Law Center, 2017). Child protection advocates argue that SHS is no different from other forms of physical abuse and endangerment of children, and thus these laws should be expanded across the country to ban exposing children to SHS in any enclosed space, including vehicles and private residences.

Though the danger SHS poses to children is undeniable, the primary arguments against creating laws banning smoking in private areas in which children are present are: 1) it represents too great an infringement by the government into citizens’ privacy, and 2) it would be too difficult to accurately enforce. Americans are particularly protective of the division between public and private spaces, and “America's traditions of individualism and autonomy present formidable barriers to effectively reducing SHS exposure in private homes and cars” (Jarvie & Malone, 2008, p. 2143). In short, Americans are always wary of the “slippery slope,” wondering where the line will be drawn if the government gains ever-increasing power over homes and families. While obviously there are already laws regarding what can take place in private residences (as there should be), each new law represents the ceding of personal decisions to a public authority, giving someone else the power to decide what’s “right” or “best” for individuals and families. Jarvie and Malone (2008) call this “paternalism” and point out that “paternalism can impinge upon autonomy, so actions must be carefully considered” (p. 2142). Thus, even some who acknowledge that SHS is a danger to children oppose the passing of laws to prevent smoking around children, fearing excessive bureaucratic red tape and government overreach into private spaces and personal decisions.

For that matter, argue opponents of laws banning smoking around children, how exactly would such laws be enforced? Even many who agree that people should not smoke around children in cars and homes think creating and enforcing laws on this issue would be impractical at best, and unconstitutional at worst. When a ban on parents smoking in cars was introduced in England, one deputy prime minister wondered, “[H]ow on earth are you going to properly enforce it?” and added,

Do we let the police into people's homes where children are watching six hours' television? Do we have the state going into kitchens to say that is one Coke can too many? I think sometimes we have to say, hang on a minute, laws and legislation is not always the solution . . .You cannot sub-contract responsible parenting to the state. (“Smoking Ban,” 2014)

In other words, by this reasoning, the government should not be a “nanny state” guarding children against any chance of injury; any attempt to do so would be impractical, not to mention an egregious violation of the Fourth Amendment.

Thus, while health experts agree that smoking around children harms those children, there is no clear consensus regarding whether the solution to this issue is legal, educational, social, or some combination thereof. Should smoking around children be considered a form of child abuse? After reviewing current research in the field, it appears the overlooked answer is to work to change cultural norms such that it becomes socially unacceptable to smoke around children, even if it is not illegal.

Methods

A qualitative research approach was used for the first piece of field research, a personally-conducted interview. Qualitative research focuses on using open-ended questions and prompts to better understand people’s beliefs, experiences, attitudes, behaviors, and interactions. To better understand this question of children’s health verses practicality and individual sovereignty, an interview was conducted with Alicia Smithee, high school teacher of 40 years, mother of three, and grandmother of three. Ms. Smithee smoked for 20 years, stopping while pregnant with each of her children but otherwise smoking throughout their childhoods, including in the home and car. The interview took place in her home in Chattanooga, TN, on November 15, 2017. Ms. Smithee is a 67-year-old Caucasian woman who has lived in East Tennessee for the majority of her life. Both of her parents (now deceased) also smoked cigarettes throughout her childhood and young adulthood.

The second piece of field research conducted for this paper was a quantitative poll. Quantitative polling involves asking closed-ended questions, such that respondents have set answers to choose from (rather than giving free-form answers as in qualitative research). From November 16 – 20, 2017, a poll was conducted via a Survey Planet survey linked on Facebook.

Results

The interview with Ms. Smithee consisted of five questions. The questions and Ms. Smithee’s verbatim answers are listed in Table 1 below.

Table 1

Smithee Interview Transcript

Questions	Answers
Why did you stop smoking when pregnant but smoke around your children once born?	You have to remember that smoking is looked at very differently today than in the past. At one time, cigarettes were advertised directly to pregnant women! By the time I was pregnant with my first child, in 1975-76, we knew enough to know that pregnant women shouldn’t smoke, but secondhand smoke wasn’t really on anyone’s radar, at least not on mine. I mean, I didn’t sit there blowing smoke directly down my kids’ lungs or anything, but I didn’t think twice about smoking in the car with the windows cracked or smoking in the living room while they played or watched TV. No one did. When they got older, my daughters would send their little brother into the room to complain that his lungs were “black and shriveled” (smartasses), and at that point I think I just got stubborn about it. I started smoking outside only, but I didn’t quit until after the last kid left for college [laughs].
When did you stop smoking and why?	I stopped smoking in 2006. I wish I could say I stopped for health reasons like my kids wanted, but honestly at that point smoking was looked down upon, something to be embarrassed about, and I didn’t want to do it anymore. Plus I was getting older, and my daughter was starting a family. I didn’t want to be a gross grandma.
If you still smoked, would you smoke around your grandchildren?	Oh God no! Honestly, I can’t imagine still smoking, but if I did, I would NEVER smoke around my grandkids. I wouldn’t even want to SMELL like smoke around my grandkids.
What changes have you witnessed in smoking regulations in schools?	I remember when we had designated rooms for students and teachers to smoke in. Later they changed the rules so that students could only smoke outside, but even then faculty could smoke in the teachers’ lounge. Eventually they phased that out too. Now there are designated smoking areas, and I’m a little embarrassed when I walk past and see faculty puffing away with the juniors and seniors. I think they should forbid smoking on school campuses at all, honestly. Of course, I’m about to retire, so I wouldn’t be the one dealing with people in nicotine withdrawal during the day [laughs].
Do you think smoking around children in enclosed spaces should be illegal?	I’m one of those “born-again nonsmokers” – now that I don’t smoke anymore, I think smoking is nasty, and no one should do it at all, anywhere. I definitely think smoking around children or even in enclosed spaces children spend time in (even if they’re not there when you’re smoking) should be illegal. It’s bad enough we do that to ourselves; we definitely shouldn’t be doing it to children. I thank God none of my children smoke, despite the example I set for them – or maybe it’s because of it, I don’t know.

For the survey, participants were asked whether smoking around children in an enclosed space such as a room or car should be illegal. Thirty-seven participants responded, selecting between “Yes,” “No,” and “It shouldn’t be illegal, but people shouldn’t do it.” Nineteen respondents said “yes,” three said “no,” and 15 said, “It shouldn’t be illegal, but people shouldn’t do it.”

Figure 1

Survey Planet / Facebook Poll: Smoking around Children

Discussion

Ms. Smithee was chosen as the interview subject because she represents changing attitudes towards smoking in general over the years and has witnessed laws about smoking in public places change as they relate to children (high school children in this case). Of particular interest is her strong aversion to smoking and smokers now that she has quit, as well as her admission that she stopped smoking largely to avoid negative social perception rather than negative health consequences. Her thoughts on smoking around children in enclosed spaces seem in line with the general public, as well over half of a WBLK poll respondents were in favor of at least banning smoking around children in cars (Anderson, 2017). However, the makers of that poll do not appear to have used particularly scientific or professional research methodology, so further research into public attitudes towards SHS and children was conducted to compare results. The vast majority of those polled in the survey represented in Figure 1 agreed that people should not smoke around children in enclosed spaces, with over half believing that such behavior should be illegal.

While steps have been taken in some areas of the United States to regulate smoking in cars around children, these laws are far from universal or widespread and do not tackle the larger question of whether smoking around children in any enclosed space should be banned, nor how such a ban would be enforced in less visible areas, such as the homes of individual families. For that matter, what constitutes a “child”? In Vermont and Virginia, the ban on smoking in cars with children applies only to children eight and under; in California and Oregon, however, the ban covers all children 18 and under (ANRF, n.d.). Myriad other questions arise in relation to this topic. On what grounds could law enforcement enter a private residence to determine whether laws regarding children and SHS are being violated, without violating the Fourth Amendment? For that matter, what about shared buildings like apartment complexes? Are smokers in apartments adjacent to ones containing children responsible for exposing neighbor children to SHS? These questions and more leave many leery of the kinds of laws proposed by child protection advocates, for all that most agree that smoking around children in an enclosed area is a form of child endangerment, and even abuse.

Conclusion

One alternative solution to get around this seeming impasse between protecting children and sliding down the slippery slope of government intrusion lies in using social pressure rather than legal measures to combat smoking around children. Jarvie and Malone (2008) suggest that, instead of legislation, we work to create “a norm of unacceptability” around this issue, meaning that, through public education efforts, we gradually make smoking around children as publicly frowned upon as things like drunk driving and domestic abuse (p. 2145). Raising awareness can slowly change behaviors and create cultural change. This can be seen in the story of Ms. Smithee, who said that, even though she smoked heavily around her own children, if she still smoked today, she would never even think about smoking around her grandchildren (A. Smithee, personal communication, November 15, 2017). For that matter, Smithee (2017) indicated that it was social disapproval more than health concerns that led her to quit smoking in the first place. This one example, while anecdotal, shows that attitudes and behaviors can change as more is learned about their consequences. In this case, perhaps altering social norms, rather than illegalizing behaviors, is the most productive path to reform, such that exposing children to secondhand smoke, even if not illegal, could soon become inconceivable in the United States.

Further research should focus on gathering additional qualitative data from a much larger sample size than one interviewee to determine the likelihood of success of an initiative to eliminate the negative impact of secondhand smoke on children via social pressure rather than changing laws. Research should also pursue questions about whether the negative effects of smoking around children go beyond physical consequences and into psychological effects, such as increasing the likelihood of such children to smoke later in life.

References

American Cancer Society. (2015, November 13). Health risks of secondhand smoke. Retrieved from http://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancercauses/tobaccocancer/secondhand-smoke

American Nonsmokers’ Rights Association [ANRA]. (n.d.). Smokefree cars. Retrieved from http://www.no-smoke.org/learnmore.php?id=616

Anderson, J. D. (2009). Parental smoking: a form of child abuse? Marquette Law Review, 77(2), 360-384. http://scholarship.law.marquette.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1614& context=mulr

Anderson, T. (2017, September 9). Poll: Should there be a law banning smoking in your car with children present? Retrieved from the WBLK website: http://wblk.com/poll-should-there- be-a-law-banning-smoking-in-your-car-with-children-present/

Centers for Disease Control. (2015, October 1). Health effects of cigarette smoking. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/health_effects/ effects_ cig_smoking/

Jarvie, J. A., & Malone, R. E. (2008, December). Children’s secondhand smoke exposure in private homes and cars: an ethical analysis. American Journal of Public Health, 98(12), 2140-2145. 10.2105/AJPH.2007.130856

Public Health Law Center. (2017). Families & children. Retrieved from the Mitchell Hamline School of Law website: http://www.publichealthlawcenter.org/topics/tobacco- control/smoke-free-tobacco-free-places/families-children

Smoking ban in cars with children unenforceable, says Nick Clegg. (2014, January 30). The Guardian. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/jan/30/smoking- ban-cars-children-nick-clegg

Appendix A

Interview with Ms. Alicia Smithee

Data collected from the participant included responses to the following questions:

· Background questions:

· When and where were you born?

· How long have you been teaching?

· How long did you smoke?

· What were your policies regarding smoking around your children?

· Did your parents smoke, and if so, did they smoke in your presence?

· Why did you stop smoking when pregnant but smoke around your children once born?

· When did you stop smoking and why?

· If you still smoked, would you smoke around your grandchildren?

· What changes have you witnessed in smoking regulations in schools?

· Do you think smoking around children in enclosed spaces should be illegal?

Appendix B

Survey Planet / Facebook Poll

Poll participants were asked whether smoking around children in an enclosed space should be illegal. They could choose from three responses:

· Yes

· No

· It shouldn’t be illegal, but people shouldn’t do it.

Should smoking around children in an enclosed space be illegal?

Yes No Not illegal but shouldn't do it 0.51 0.08 0.41