• Fathers & grandfathers blamed for children’s exposure 

Sri Lanka is experiencing a rise in wheezing in children following an increase in exposure to passive smoke by their parents and grandparents who smoke in the presence of children.

“We see children develop wheezing after being exposed to their fathers and grandfathers smoking around them,” Consultant Paediatrician at the Lady Ridgeway Hospital for Children, Dr. Deepal Perera told The Daily Morning yesterday (3). 

“There has been an increase in the number of cases of children being treated for wheezing due to being exposed to smoke from family members.” 

Dr. Perera noted that adults are advised not to smoke in front of children as it not only causes them health issues such as wheezing but also leads to children imitating their parents and trying to take up smoking in their adolescent years. 

“Children have a tendency to imitate their parents,” Perera said. “So, it is likely that they will think that smoking is an acceptable habit as the people around them do it, in turn creating a new generation of smokers.”

The World Health Organisation states that there is a continuous decline in the global use of tobacco with one in five adults using tobacco in 2022 compared to one in three adults in 2000. According to the National Health Service, children who live in a house with smokers are at a higher risk of health issues such as asthma, allergies as well as more harmful illnesses such as pneumonia and bronchitis. Meanwhile, those who have regular exposure to passive smoking are more likely to suffer from the same health complications that smokers are at risk of such as lung and mouth cancer and heart disease.