Secondhand smoke hurting school children

Consider this: secondhand smoke kills about 3,000 people each year who
do not smoke, according to the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Children who suffer from secondhand smoke are more likely to get
pneumonia, bronchitis and other lung diseases. They also are more
likely to develop asthma.There are an estimated 150,000 to 300,000
cases of pneumonia, bronchitis and other lung diseases in children each
year. These result in 7,000 to 15,000 hospitalizations.

Some Sembach Middle School students say they notice secondhand smoke,
it causes throat irritation, even when adults smoke outside or near
their school, some students said.

“People at our school get throat pain – no wonder,” said Anthony Kirsten, eighth-grader at Sembach school.

Thursday is the American Cancer Society’s “Great American Smokeout,” a
day set aside in hopes that smokers will quit for just one day and then
continue to stop, one day at time.

Some Sembach Middle School students, who have noticed secondhand smoke,
are encouraging adults not to smoke near or around their school. And
they are hoping smokers will join the Great American Smokeout.