Parents are adults, and that title shows authority over their children that the children are required to respect. On the other hand, the mere classification as being an adult does not mean it is acceptable to smoke around children. While adults do have certain rights in the United States, causing harm to another person is not one of those rights. Additionally, the smoker is addicted to the nicotine contained in the tobacco; thus, the smoker is not exercising his or her individual rights, but simply satisfying a craving for the tobacco (OMA 6). The smoker is imposing unwanted exposure to the harmful chemicals on others, including children. More than two thirds of the children who participated in an American Lung Association study reportedly had been exposed to second-hand smoke in the home at some time in their lives (American Lung Association, "Protecting" 2). .
Since the smoke can cause the child to develop heart disease, lung cancer, asthma or other respiratory problems, it is causing physical harm to the child and therefore falls .
into the category of child abuse. As James Garbarino, director of Cornell University's Family Life Development Center, stressed, "Let's call it what it is: Parental smoking is child abuse" (Lang 1). Richard Bouchard, a criminal law professor at the University of Moncton, believes that "parents who smoke could be held criminally responsible for subjecting their children to secondhand smoke" (Canadian 1). The research shows all of .
the physical health problems that are caused by second-hand smoke. As each definition stated, physical harm is child abuse, so second-hand smoke is child abuse.
The belief that second-hand smoke will not hurt children is common among parental smokers, although studies have disproved that thinking. Secondhand smoke is the third major preventable cause of death and more young children are killed by parental smoking than by all unintentional injuries combined (OMA 1, Lang 1).