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Four-week-old died of pneumonia after breathing in second-hand cigarette smoke at a family function.

Baby Muhammad Hafizh Indonesian parents said they had no idea such a short exposure could be fatal.

“I hope the Government will shut down the cigarette manufacturers,” Hafizh’s mother Fitria Lestari said.

“Cigarettes here are worse than narcotics — but narcotics only kills the user, while cigarette addicts kill the people around them.”

Hafizh was exposed to cigarette smoke at a party to celebrate the new baby, reported ABC news.

“Cigarettes were the culprit,” the baby’s father Hegidi Ichwanur said.

“We believe smoking was the main factor,” Fitria agreed. “Everything was fine before then.”

Fitria and her husband said the smokers were relatives who refused to put out their cigarettes.

She said they were ignorant of the potential damage.

They said the baby was exposed for about five minutes, but was severely affected by the smoke.

Hafizh developed breathing difficulties and they took him to hospital.

“He spent 10 hours in the ER,” Fitria said.

“They said his condition was improving and he was moved into the ward, but then he started declining.

“He was coughing, his pulse was getting weaker and weaker … the doctor asked us to pray for him.

“I had to give up on him. I said to him, ‘My dear baby, you may go if you want to go, mum and dad were pleased with you’. And then he was gone.”

Baby Hafizh’s mother said the Government must move against the tobacco industry.

“The difficulty here is that so many things are sponsored by cigarette companies — like sporting events,” she said.

“If the Government can’t shut them down, then they should increase taxes so that cigarettes are very expensive.”

Secondhand smoke can be especially harmful to your children’s health because their lungs are still developing. If you smoke around your children or they are exposed to secondhand smoke in other places, they may be in more danger than you realise. Children whose parents smoke outside are still exposed to the chemicals in secondhand smoke.

The American Academy Pediatrics (AAP) has conducted research on the effects of thirdhand smoke and found that it is also harmful. Thirdhand smoke is the smoke left behind—the harmful toxins that remain in places where people have smoked previously. Thirdhand smoke can be found in the walls of a bar, upholstery on the seats of a car, or even a child’s hair after a caregiver smokes near the child.

Infants also have a higher risk of SIDS if they are exposed to secondhand smoke.

Children have a higher risk of serious health problems, or problems may become worse.

Children who breathe secondhand smoke can have more:
Ear infections
Coughs and colds
Respiratory problems, such as bronchitis and pneumonia
Tooth decay

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  • I wouldn’t be surprised that the cigarettes would do this especially if there were a lot.

    Reply

  • A 4 week old baby has not have built up much immunity. A young baby can easily catch Pneumonia, much easier than one who is several months old. They cannot be given strong antibiotics either. A young baby can also suddenly have a really bad asthma attack. I know a boy who parents were told their son had asthma before they left the hospital. In fact he stayed in hospital much longer than a full term baby normally would.
    It could have been the cigarette smoke from several people, not just one. Even with cigarettes the smoke smells stronger for some cigarettes than others. (the same applies tobacco smoked in pipes or cigars).
    We don’t know if the party was inside or outside -under shelter and whether or not it was in confined space. The smoke can also enter a house via airconditioning if a person is too close to it outside. We found that out because of a relative who smoked went outside but was too close to the airconditioning unit. We couldn’t see her but we could certainly smell the putrid smoke.

    Reply

  • 5 minutes really?! Would 5 minutes exposure do this much damage? I think tge parents need to accept sone responsibility tho. They should have insisted on no smoking at the event. And evicted anyone who refused to butt out. Even removing the baby from the room would have helped

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  • I wonder if it is true that 5 minutes 2nd hand smoke could have caused this and if something else was going on.

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  • How sad. I won’t let anyone near my baby with cigarettes!
    Poor bubba. RIP

    Reply

  • I can’t stand people smoking. In particular around children. But can in this cake smoke really be the only cause? For just 5 minutes being exposed to smoke? :-(

    Reply

  • You should not be smoking around children,full stop.

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  • Babies shouldn’t be around any smoke. However I feel very sorry and send my condolences to the family.

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  • I’d give anything for my husband to quit smoking. I blame my mother inlaw for my miscarriage when she spent a weekend chain smoking inside their house while we were there.

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  • As someone who has trouble breathing near cigarette smoke even though I am not asthmatic, and it can also trigger migraines for me, I understand full well how little exposure one needs to be affected. I grew up with a mother who smoked inside sitting next to me on the couch, and somehow never pegged that being the cause of my issues. Smoking should be banned outright, things have improved but not enough. I for one will be glad to have it gone for good.

    Reply

  • I just don’t understand why anyone starts smoking in the first place.

    Reply

  • unfortunately the government had raised the taxes of cigarettes but it doesn’t deter some people, its a highly addictive substance. The circumstances are absolutely tragic but if that was my child i would of never had the child near cigarette smoke in the first place.

    Reply

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