We have all seen the commercials and even probably been told by our doctors that smoking is bad for us.
There is no doubt that the health effects of smoking affect the entire body and everyone around us.
Consider your children, if you are a smoker, the health consequences to children can be even more devastating.
According to The National Survey on Environmental Management of Asthma and Children's Exposure to Environmental Tobacco Smoke, "eleven percent of children under the age of six are exposed to secondhand smoke in their homes several times per week.
" We know that smoking kills and yet we allow children, even our children, to be exposed to the harmful effects.
Children are still growing and developing physically and have very little control of their environments so it is up to the parents to put them first.
If you are a parent that smokes you may want to consider what you are doing to your child and if you are in the process of divorce or have a current custody order you may want to consider quitting.
Courts are concerned with the health of our children and whether or not a parent smokes may be taken into consideration when determining who gets custody and visitation.
In fact, there have been court rulings that are in favor of the non-smoking parent.
This day and age it appears that gender may no longer play a major role in who gets custody of children of divorce but who can provide a safe healthy environment for the children.
Our society is to the point that if you spank your child in public, someone may call the police and next thing you know you are being investigated for child abuse.
How long will it be before someone turns you in for smoking around your child, exposing them to cancer causing agents? Which is worse, a swat on the butt or sudden infant death syndrome, asthma, chronic ear infections, and other respiratory problems? Times are changing and 90 percent of the time it is the parents who are exposing their children to the harmful effects of secondhand smoke - that is child abuse.