Why Do We Need CEASE?

• 36% of all children in the U.S. live with a household member who is a smoker, and children who live with a smoking parent are more likely to start smoking themselves. (CEASE Training Manual)
• Secondhand smoke has been linked to innumerable health problems, including sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), asthma, pneumonia, ear infections, cancer, heart disease and more. CDC Fact Sheet on Secondhand Smoke, medicinenet.com
• Secondhand tobacco smoke lingers long after the cigarette is extinguished, and coats every surface inside the home with toxins. These toxic residue is known as thirdhand smoke, and we know that even months after a cigarette is extinguished, these poisons continue to off-gas and contaminate the air. (CEASE Training Manual)
• Secondhand tobacco smoke is deadly. It kills three times more children than all childhood cancers combined. While laws protect adults in the workplace, no laws protect children in their own homes and cars. (CEASE Training Manual)
• CEASE research shows that while a majority of parents would accept medications from their child’s doctor to help them quit smoking, only 7% get that help. A majority of parents want to be enrolled in a telephone quitline, but only 1% get enrolled. And a majority of parents would be more satisfied with their doctor’s visit if their child’s doctor addressed their smoking. (CEASE Training Manual)
• In one study of 341 parents interviewed immediately following pediatric clinic visits, 99% of smoking and non-smoking parents indicated asking about smoking is an important part of a pediatrician’s role (American Medical Association)
• By NOT addressing secondhand smoke, “physicians are missing opportunities to have an impact on…likely the most ubiquitous and hazardous form of environmental exposure for children in the United States.” (American Medical Association)