From before I was born until I was 17, my parents smoked cigarettes. They smoked inside of our house and our car, and anywhere else we went. The vast majority of adults who came to our house smoked. In addition, when we went to visit family members or stay at their houses for vacations, those adults smoked, too. I was surrounded by smoke. As a very young child, I was constantly sick and by six years old I was diagnosed with asthma. I struggled to breathe, but no one seemed to make the connection to the pollutants that I was inhaling every moment of every day. I continued to get worse and was diagnosed with Chronic Bronchitis, a subset of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, something that is typical for heavy smokers to develop later in life. I've never smoked- not even once- but my exposure to second-hand smoke has greatly diminished my lung capacity as well as my quality of life. My breathing improved after my parents quit smoking and as an adult I avoid as many situations as possible that might trigger a breathing emergency. I have also made it my mission to protect my children from my experience. This has unfortunately resulted in them not knowing portions of my family as well as I would like, though, as I refuse to take them into a home filled with smoke.
In 2008, my husband studied abroad in Cairo, Egypt. While he was enamored with the culture and history that he encountered, he was not quite expecting the level of pollution that surrounded the city. On a clear day, the mosque of Ibn Tulun looks like this:
On a day where pollution is very high and the air is hazy- my husband says most days are like this- the mosqu of Ibn Tolun looks like this:
Imagine breathing those particles of "silica, sulfate and carbonate" into your lungs each day of your life (Khaled, 2013 para. 6). Pollution levels are many times higher in Cairo than any recognized safe or acceptable level. As a result, up to 25,000 people die each year and for those who survive, essential organs and body/cognitive functions are affected. In order to protect children, efforts are being made to reduce the impacts of pollution, such as planting tall trees to act as filters. A new program is also helping industrial plants to reduce their lead emissions; high lead emissions lead to stunted brain growth among other developmental delays (Cairo Air, 2014).
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I'm glad to hear that your health improved and that you are wanting the best health for your children as well! when you talked about the pollution in Cairo it reminded me of when I was in undergrad and I took a class about China. We talked about how polluted the country is in the major cities, such as Beijing. People walk around everyday with masks over there faces to protect from the hazy pollution. I cannot imagine living in those conditions and exposing my children to such toxic fumes. I would hate for my kids to even go outside! I hope in the near future better resources are available to help with the pollution.
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