Helping Parents Quit Smoking By Donald Berwick, M.D.,
Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
Cross post from Healthcare.gov As a pediatrician, I’ve seen too
many children whose health problems could have been avoided if
they hadn’t been exposed to cigarette smoke. And when parents
smoke, it’s especially dangerous to their children. Exposed to
smoke, children are at greater risk of serious lower respiratory
infections such as bronchitis and pneumonia. They are more prone
to ear infections. If they have asthma, they have more frequent
and severe attacks. In pregnant women, smoking can cause serious
complications. Babies born to mothers who smoke are more likely
to be lower birth weight, have lung problems, and other health
problems. They’re more likely to die from sudden infant death
syndrome. But it’s not easy for a person with a tobacco
addiction to quit. That’s why it’s so important to reach
pregnant smokers, with services like face-to-face counseling,
telephone quit-lines staffed by