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Home » About NCAC » NCAC Smoke Free Environments for Children Position Statement
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NCAC Smoke Free Environments for Children
Position Statement October 2006
Page contents:
Preamble
Environmental tobacco smoke consists of two different types of smoke:
- exhaled mainstream smoke which is the smoke breathed out by a person smoking a burning cigarette
- side-stream smoke which is the smoke that is released from a burning cigarette
Passive smoking is the inhalation of environmental tobacco smoke, which is made up of exhaled mainstream smoke and side-stream smoke.
Passive smoking affects both smokers and non-smokers. Both exhaled mainstream smoke and side stream smoke contain many chemical carcinogens* and other toxic substances. Passive or involuntary smoking causes a number of diseases and conditions in children and adults, including several cancers, and is also linked to other adverse health issues.
In children passive smoking causes the following conditions:
- Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS or cot death)
- lower birth weight
- bronchitis, pneumonia and other airway infections
- asthma
- middle ear disease
- respiratory symptoms (coughing, wheezing)
In adults passive smoking causes the following diseases and conditions:
- heart disease
- lung cancer
- nasal sinus cancer
- irritation of the eyes and nose
Exposure to environmental tobacco smoke for children can lead to:
- adverse effects on cognition and behaviour
- decreased lung function
- worsening of cystic fibrosis
- meningococcal disease
Exposure to environmental tobacco smoke for adults can lead to:
- miscarriages
- cervical cancer
- breast cancer
- stroke
- asthma
(Cancer Council Australia's Position Statement Passive Smoking)
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Rationale
Exposure to environmental tobacco smoke poses major health risks for both children and adults. However, unlike adults, children often do not have the understanding, ability or power to avoid exposure to other people's smoke.
Children attending a child care service have the right to an entirely smoke free environment, and it is the duty of the adults responsible for children to ensure their exposure to involuntary smoke inhalation is prevented.
It is important that adults responsible for children model positive and healthy behaviours as children often learn and emulate the actions of adults.
The National Childcare Accreditation Council (NCAC) implements Quality Assurance systems for child care services throughout Australia and advocates for quality in all aspects of children's experiences. NCAC has a responsibility to promote healthy and safe child care environments.
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NCAC's Position
NCAC believes that:
- Children attending a child care service should have access to a completely smoke free environment while in care, including indoor and outdoor areas
- Child care staff, carers and management have a professional and ethical responsibility to ensure that child care environments are kept as smoke free as possible when children are not present in the service
- Child care staff, carers and management have a professional and ethical responsibility to ensure that, where environments cannot be kept smoke free when children are not present, they implement strategies to minimise the risk of children inhaling environmental smoke.
- Children who are transported by vehicle from one place to another during their attendance at child care should be transported in vehicles that are entirely smoke free
- Child care staff, carers and management have a professional and ethical responsibility to ensure that children do not observe them smoking
- Child care staff, carers and management have a professional and ethical responsibility to minimise instances where children may observe other adults** smoking
- Child care staff, carers and management have a professional and ethical responsibility to minimise the risk of children inhaling any residual environmental smoke if they have smoked a cigarette prior to contact with children
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Recommendations
To prevent or minimise the risk of children inhaling environmental smoke or witnessing others smoking, NCAC recommends that child care services undertake to:
- develop and implement smoke free environment policies that incorporate current information and recommendations from recognised health authorities
- involve all child care service stakeholders in the development, implementation and regular review of the smoke free environment policy
- clearly inform families, staff, carers and visitors to the service of the smoke free environment policy
- clearly inform families, staff, carers and visitors to the service of any actions they are required to take to meet the requirements of the smoke free environment policy
- provide families, staff, carers and visitors to the service with current information obtained from recognised health authorities about the risks associated with both passive and non-passive smoking
- minimise the risk of children observing people external to the service smoking, including images that may be accessed by children through photographs, magazines, television, videos, computer games or the internet
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Summary
Passive and non-passive smoking presents significant health risks for both children and adults. There are three fundamental approaches that child care services must adopt to minimise risks to children in relation to other people's smoking. These are:
- ensuring that children are cared for in entirely smoke free environments
- preventing children from witnessing and possibly modelling the behaviours of people that smoke
- providing information to others about the dangers of smoking and strategies for protecting children from the risks associated with passive smoking
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References
Australian Medical Association. (2005). AMA Position Statement Tobacco Smoking 2005. Retrieved 10 October 2006, from http://www.ama.com.au
The Cancer Council Australia. Position Statement Passive Smoking. Retrieved 10 October 2006, from http://www.cancer.org.au
The National Occupational Health and Safety Commission. Position statement adopted by NOHSC concerning Environmental Tobacco Smoke. Retrieved 10 October 2006, from http://www.ascc.gov.au
Public Health Association of Australia Inc. (2005). Policy Statement Passive Smoking. Retrieved 10 October 2006, from http://www.phaa.net.au
* A carcinogen is a substance that tends to cause cancer
**'other adults' includes visitors to the services such as tradespeople, friends or relatives of staff or carers, children's families and people who are authorised to leave children at the service or to collect children from the service
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