Secondhand Smoke and a Child’s Asthma: Jessica S.’s Story

Jessica S. is a single mother with a lot on her plate: she's a student, works at a bank and plays handball at the national level. At 28, she is also raising a son with severe asthma. Her story is part of CDC's Tips From Former Smokers® (Tips®) campaign.

An attack's hidden trigger

Her son, Aden, was diagnosed with asthma at age 3. Jessica has never smoked, yet many of his attacks were set off by secondhand smoke. Her mother, who looked after Aden during the day while Jessica worked, smoked cigarettes — and Jessica didn't know that secondhand smoke could trigger asthma.

It took an emergency room visit for her to see it. Staff there asked her again and again whether she smoked, and she kept saying no — until she realized Aden was around cigarette smoke at his grandmother's house.

Living with asthma

Asthma is hard on both of them. Jessica says Aden gets angry and upset, feeling he's the only child with the problem, and that for her, the hardest part is never knowing when the next attack will come.

Her tip

Jessica joined the Tips campaign because she wants people — especially first-time mothers — to pay attention to their child's surroundings and not be shy about asking people not to smoke around children. The cause of a child's illness, she points out, can be right in front of you without your knowing it. Her own mother is working hard to quit and no longer smokes around Aden.

She hopes her ad helps people who smoke understand the long-term harm their smoke can do to others, especially children. In CDC's TV ad, she warns that secondhand smoke exposure can trigger a life-threatening asthma attack.

Free help to quit

Sources

Based on "Jessica S.'s Story," Tips From Former Smokers® campaign, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; a work of the United States government in the public domain; rewritten in hubnx's own words.