Vaping dad places new baby at risk
Dear Amy: Our grandson vapes. And he has a new baby at home.
I spoke with him before the baby was born and tried to encourage him to stop this terrible habit for the baby's sake.
He goes outside to vape and then comes inside and cuddles with the baby.
I feel that chemicals and nicotine are in his hair and skin and on his clothes and that this is bad for the baby, but I cannot find any definitive answers about vaping in general.
What do you think, and what can I say to get him to quit this bad habit?
-- Worried Gran
Dear Gran: Unlike cigarettes, which are at least a uniform size, there is a tremendous variety in vaping delivery systems, and the products they use.
People who vape ingest heated vapor from a pod filled with liquid. Because this liquid is unregulated, the smoker doesn't really know what is in it. For instance, I've read that formaldehyde is one of the chemicals used in some vaping products.
Nicotine -- the primary hit in most vaping products -- is definitely harmful to children.
The America Academy of Pediatrics (aap.org) warns that any exposure to nicotine, including secondhand exposure from vaping, poses a risk for children.
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