Smoking And Babies. Will The Smell Of Smoke On Clothes And Hands Harm Babies?
7 January 2010
If a person smokes outside of the house and doesnt wash his/her hands afterwards then handles a baby/infant, will there be any harm like second hand smoke to the baby/infant/child or even others around?
No it is not. Those that say it is, are either non smokers, or childless. Maybe even both.
My husband’s sister smokes more than a freight train. She is not allowed to hold our daughter because she and her husband (who also smokes) reek. They come into my in-laws’ house and I have to leave the room because the stench seems to permeate it. Ugh. The wife of my husband’s brother also smokes and reeks and I also don’t like to be around her for that reason. (They’re also both several bulbs short of a six bulb chandelier.) The one time my daughter met my BIL’s wife, she started crying. While my daughter was only three months old at the time, I thought she was pretty smart. So, I excused myself and went to a quieter room. She settled down almost immediately.
It’s supposed to be unsanitary for adults to do things like eat after smoking without washing hands. (I complained to Wendy’s about that when I saw employees smoking by the door [highly annoying enough], but did not see either of them clean their hands. Even after mentioning that I’m a stockholder [which I am], I did not receive a response. That’s fine. I didn’t spend any money there, my SIL did. It also further turned me off of fast food restaurants.)
Also, last month, we were visiting my in-laws’ and my SIL stopped by. My husband took her out to the truck (our truck that she borrowed) and didn’t stay out long because the truck (in which she and her husband were not supposed to smoke and claim they didn’t) and his sister reeked and he did not want to expose our daughter to that.
Anyway, I would ask all who smoke to wash (properly with plenty of soap away from the water for at least 15 seconds) or sanitize their hands after. If not, they don’t hold the baby. This is just us and how we feel best to raise our daughter.
Hands should be washed to prevent ingestion of tars and chemicals left on hands.
No, your clothes smelling like smoke won’t harm baby, just make sure you are *always* smoking outside. The particles that cause the smoke smell are attached to the clothing fibers and will not be breathed in. It isn’t exactly the most pleasant scent though, so maybe change into a clean tee shirt and use mouthwash or gum so baby doesn’t have to smell that.
Take care!
I too was worried about this, as my MIL smokes alot, then holds my baby. I researched it, and turns out it IS harmful to baby! They can breathe in all the nasty toxins and pollutants when they are nuzzled up against the chest of a smoker. I told her about it, and now when she comes in from smoking, she HAS to wash her hands, and change her shirt before she holds my baby.
ugh i am glad to read this because my MIL SMOKES and then holds the baby and lets him CHEW ON HER SMOKY FINGERS and doesn’t wash her hands and it grosses me out because her nails are yellow from smoking!! i don’t know how to tell her to PLEASE WASH HER HANDS after she smokes!
i will tell my husband about this and make him tell her!
you always always want to have anyone (whether they smoke or not) to thoroughly wash their hands before handling the baby…and yes there is still a chance that the smoke on their hands or on their clothes could affect the baby’s lung development. Keep baby away from smoke at all costs!!
it like second hand smoker,
you have to wash your hands after smoking just like you should wash your hand after using the bathroom. there are things called bacteria, they are everywhere.
if you didn’t wash your hands you will smell bad and people won’t be happy when you are around them
yes! quite..you could do it! I smoked for 7 years and quite the day I found out I was pregnant…havent smoked since and my daughter is just about 5 months old…I believe she saved my life..smoking is so bad, I cant even be around it anymore.
Yup that’s second hand smoke and it is still bad. If some one “has” to smoke. Change clothes and wash hands ,arms and face really really well before holding baby.
No. There is a big difference between the smell of smoke and actual secondhand smoke.
2nd hand smoke is far worse than 1st hand. It contains the worst toxin known as carbon monoxide.