Smoking Health Concerns and Children

[kcghost]

I've been hanging out in smoke shops for half-my life. Paying cards and shooting the breeze with my cronies. Neither I nor my cronies have any health problems caused by this. I have noticed that my cronies have gotten a lot older in that time, though.
Seriously, though do what you believe is right for your family.

 

[Sloopjohnbee]

When I was a kid people would smoke around me constantly
don't smoke around the kids...they'll be fine
your wife will need to adjust -
or you can quit altogether and fold - your choice
Welcome

 

[warren]

The carcinogens come into existence when the tobacco is ignited. So ... think it through. Nicotine is absorbed into the body through the membranes in the mouth and nose. So, outside and keeping your distance should solve most any concerns except for the reek.

he turned out just fine

You won't know if your kids "turned out just fine" until he dies of old age. So, don't worry, if cancer kills him you probably won't be around for the guilt.

 

[tobefrank]

Congrats on your new(ish) baby bro. It’s hard work being parents, so do what you have to do to stay sane and support yourself, each other and your family. I could be way off, but my gut says the issue may not be so much the smoking but the alone time you get to unwind every evening.

+1 on the alone time probably being the problem.

I really don't see how smoke particles on your clothes could be a problem, particularly when you wash yourself and change your clothes as you are saying. Maybe try to find a way for her to have some off time as well and the problem may sort itself out.

 

[AKinser79]

My questions are:

1) Are her concerns valid?
2) Is there anything else I should do to minimise any negative implication of my pipe smoking?
3) Do any of you have young children? What are your thoughts on this?

Thanks
Nathan

Welcome to the forum Nathan.

1. No they are not. Provided that you are not smoking inside the house itself second-hand smoke is eliminated as a possible harm to the children. So-called third hand smoke is nonsense. Were there any truth to it people would asphyxiate the second they walked into their homes where the air quality is usually worse than outside.

2. You're already doing more than enough. I would even say you're going the extra mile with changing clothes, brushing teeth and actually waiting till the eldest is in bed to have your down time.

Humans are robust creatures, including very young ones, your pipe smoking would have minimal effect on them even if you kept it one room of the house. Indeed if we are concerned about pollutants entering their lungs we might want to consider the general air quality of the location you reside instead of if you smoke a pipe or not.

Car exhaust is probably far more harmful to them, and this is before we even consider that you may live in one of the few remaining industrial areas of the UK. Even if you lived completely in the countryside then there would be exposure to all manner of agricultural pollutants that they (and you) would be exposed to.

Simply put the air they breath, that everyone breaths even when one is a never smoker is polluted. It was even worse for indoor air quality before modern appliances.

3. I neither have children, nor want children, of my own. I rather like having my own place to myself where I can do what I want, when I want how I want and do not have to accommodate anyone else. I already accommodate more than enough people in my professional life.

I think that provided that you do not exhale smoke on your children you are going to be fine. You cannot remove all harm that might come to them, and attempting to do so is ridiculous. It seems to me that you are already going beyond uncommonly good sense precautions to mitigate possible harms to them related to your choice to indulge in the leaf.

 

[OzPiper]

Both my parents smoked cigarettes when I was growing up - indoors, outdoors, in the car, everywhere. They stayed with my wife and I in our first apartment for some months in the '70s. When they left, we had all our curtains and soft furnishings professionally cleaned because of the strong, lingering, stale cigarette smell.

I packed my pipes away, sadly, when we were expecting our first. I got back into smoking cigars when both boys finished their university courses.

I smoke outdoors only, and not around children. And most definitely never around my 3 year old grand-daughter.

Wearing a smoking jacket and a smoking fez/cap may be one way of minimising tobacco particles and smoke clinging to your clothes. At least your wife will be impressed you are going that extra mile.
And look debonair at the same time.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

Based on facts, her concerns aren't valid. However, she's a female so logic and facts don't mean squat. You don't need health advice, you need marital counseling. She's not worried about the children's health because based upon what you described, she's not stupid enough to believe that crap she's handing out. When women say "do it for the children" it really means "do it for me dumb ass". So you best sit down with her and have a heart to heart now or you should look up and record the number for the best divorce attorney in the area immediately.

What you see as an hour of blessed solitude she sees as you wanting to get away from her for an hour. What you see as a relaxing hobby she see as a totally selfish act and waste of family funds. What you see as an enjoyable nicotine buzz she sees as a filthy, disgusting endeavor that makes your breath smell like ass.

My recommendation is to tell her you are using smoking a pipe to surpress your kinky urges to tie her up and have kinky, bdsm sex with her every day. This creates a win-win for you. She'll either start buying you pipes, tobacco and lighters for special occasion gifts or you'll start having the greatest sex of your life. Choose wisely or after you pay alimony and child support, you may be smoking cheap tobacco in a cob while masturbating in your single wide.

 

[tfdickson]

As usual, @hoosierpipeguy is right. Except for the bdsm upside part, that’s not happening.

My sons are 6 and 9. I too have a designated time to smoke, after dinner and before bed. Usually 9-11pm daily. It keeps me sane, and my wife understands this. I smoke indoors, in my den, with a window fan going for ventilation. The kids are in bed at this point, upstairs. I have no reason to believe this is endangering them in any way.

So, question number 1 is a hard no, number 2 is you are going way beyond anything that can be justified by reason, and number 3 see above.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

As usual, @hoosierpipeguy is right. Except for the bdsm upside part, that’s not happening.

At least she can't say he didn't offer options. Plus, every time he's out smoking and she starts getting upset, visions of whips and chains will appear in her mind and she'll be grateful for the pipe smoking. And if by some slim chance, she's the one in a million .....

 

[F4RM3R]

I just had a little girl(1 year old now) and the recommendations from nurses were to change your clothes(or wear a smoking jacket) and wash hands. I usually waited a few min after smoking until my breath wasn't to intense. This is for newborns while the chance for SIDS is still a concern. After about 4-6 months I stopped changing clothes but still washed hands and still let a few mins after I smoke to let the smell dissipate as my wife was saying I reeked if I ran in right after a smoke. At this point I don't do any of that.

So maybe wait until the 6 month mark to ditch the whole clothes changing thing(when SIDS is less of a concern). But I wouldn't be too concerned at this point, especially with those precautions. Many people, probably myself included were born in a smoking free-for-all time and were handled by people who didn't wash their hands or change their clothes. Hell, many kids have lived in a smoke filled home and were fine. But take the precautions anyway at this stage to be on the safe side.

 

[frozenchurchwarden]

Both my parents smoked cigarettes when I was growing up - indoors, outdoors, in the car, everywhere. They stayed with my wife and I in our first apartment for some months in the '70s. When they left, we had all our curtains and soft furnishings professionally cleaned because of the strong, lingering, stale cigarette smell.

I packed my pipes away, sadly, when we were expecting our first. I got back into smoking cigars when both boys finished their university courses.

I smoke outdoors only, and not around children. And most definitely never around my 3 year old grand-daughter.

Wearing a smoking jacket and a smoking fez/cap may be one way of minimising tobacco particles and smoke clinging to your clothes. At least your wife will be impressed you are going that extra mile.
And look debonair at the same time.

Here's something where I think we can all be doing a lot better.

People SHOULD smoke pipes and cigars around their children as much as possible (in the appropriate environment), as long as you're not yelling at them at the same time.
Smell is one of the strongest memory associations, kids should feel an intense positive association whenever they smell a tobacco pipe.
It's no different than Alcohol, make sure the kids see what moderation and self control looks like.
Prohibition leads to excess.

 

[olkofri]

Smell is one of the strongest memory associations, kids should feel an intense positive association whenever they smell a tobacco pipe.

Pipe smell used to be the smell of fatherhood.

 

[mortonbriar]

Hi Nathan,

I left pipe smoking out for a good few months when each daughter was a new born, and then reintroduced it again slowly each time. Not because of statistics or 'facts' but just to be on hand and not stinking I guess...

I also had a few years where I did not smoke my pipe more than once a week, this was in part out of sensitivity towards my wife who had negative associations around tobacco from her own childhood. I did not make my hobby/vice more important than my family and it paid off in the long run. Every family culture is different of course, but this is how it rolled out for me. Now my kids will pack my pipe for me, and they expect me to stink.

 

[fellrobin]

Congrats on your new(ish) baby bro. It’s hard work being parents, so do what you have to do to stay sane and support yourself, each other and your family. I could be way off, but my gut says the issue may not be so much the smoking but the alone time you get to unwind every evening.

Very good point. I’ve consciously made more of an effort to give her some time to herself this week too and the conversation hasn’t even been brought up… Wise man Ahi Ka.

 

[JOHN72]

Don't smoke, and while you accumulate more tobacco in your cellar..........Until the kids have a moustache..........Everything is contaminated. I'm glad you're worried about your children..........In a very short time, society will put us in a museum of horrors...........

 

[Morrison Jeremiah]

fellrobin, this forum is full of people with pieces of wood hanging out of their mouth and it's a great way of corresponding with people one would not normally encounter, but who all have have this common tie that binds us.. I'm a boring old duffer who likes his pipe, but surely your only and overriding concern is to be a fine, fresh, upstanding family man in the way that you see fit and not pay too much attention to pipe obsessed people like us, or even myself.

 

[hawky454]

Thirdhand smoke apparently. Particles on clothes and skin, etc

This is what my doctor brought up when we had our daughter, said it could cause my daughter respiratory issues, allergies etc etc.

My daughter is almost 5 now, she’s thriving and extremely healthy, no allergies or respiratory issues to speak of.

Thirdhand smoke is a scare tactic.

 

[paulfg]

Your wife obviously wont take the children anywhere for fear of exposure to something bad.
If you are smoking outside i see no problem at all

 

[LikeDadDid]

1) Are her concerns valid?

Yes her concerns are valid. Seriously, if your wife has a concern, it has validity because it's hers, not because it may be factually accurate. As for whether there's a factual basis for concern toward your kids' health, you're asking the wrong group of people. That seems obvious.

I think there's zero risk, but you need to look elsewhere for answers, imo.

 

[kg.legat0]

I think it's very prudent to use extra caution when you have super little ones...my kids are bigger now, totally robust dudes -but, when they were 'fresh', the world just seemed like a giant minefield. It seems like having a mutually agreed upon protocol is key in such a situation.

I personally don't subject my kids to a 'smoke saturated environment', but I don't forbid them from coming into my studio/office while I'm smoking a pipe or force them to maintain a 12 foot distance from me if I am sitting outside smoking a bowl...at that rate I might as well ensure they never sit by a campfire or sit idle in rush hour traffic. They definitely associate the smell of a pipe with good things, I think that's pretty cool.