For Parents

As a parent or caregiver of young children, you want to ensure the children you care about are as healthy and safe as possible. One important way to do that is to limit their exposure to second and thirdhand smoke or vapor. Breathe: Healthy Steps to Living Tobacco Free provides information and resources that can help!

Whether you use tobacco products yourself or not, it is important to have the facts about tobacco so you can make informed decisions about your children’s health. Protecting children from the harms of tobacco starts with education!

Click any topic below for helpful resources for yourself or to share with others:

There is no ‘safe’ amount of smoking, vaping, or second hand smoke that is considered to be safe for the baby during pregnancy. Tobacco use during pregnancy may result in damage to the placenta which may affect how much oxygen the baby is getting, pre-term labor, or the baby having some health problems once born. If you or someone you know is smoking while pregnant, it is important to know that anything you can do to lessen and/or quit smoking while pregnant is the most important part! Whatever a mother puts into her body can go right to the baby during pregnancy. This includes many types of medications and smoking and vaping. These can be harmful for a growing and developing baby and possibly cause birth complications. https://justbreathein.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/2023-Parent-Handouts_SmokingVaping-during-Pregnancy.pdf This 2 minute Breathe video discusses some of the dangers that smoking can do during a pregnancy. https://vimeo.com/showcase/5229425?video=261297608 Even if you do not smoke, it can still be harmful to be around those that are smoking and vaping during pregnancy. Breathing in the second hand smoke, the smoke that comes from things like a cigarette or vape, can still be harmful to the baby as it exposes them to the harmful chemicals that are found in the second hand smoke. https://justbreathein.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Pregnancy-and-Smoke-Vapor.pdf

Spanish Resources

Many of the Breathe resources are also in Spanish! Click here to check out the Spanish resources.

Children’s Resources

Looking for fun activities to do with your kids that promote healthy habits?  Check out this page for fun activities and coloring sheets focused on healthy bodies for young children.

The Breathe program focuses on keeping younger children safe from tobacco, but we know that parents/caregivers of middle and high school-aged students also need accurate information.  Vape Free Indiana and the Truth Initiative are great resources for parents, educators, and tweens/teens.

Frequently Asked Questions

We have heard lots of questions about tobacco over the years and want to help parents get accurate answers. Click here for the most common questions parents/caregivers have about tobacco.

Not finding the information you need? Fill out this form and someone from our team will send you an email with helpful information and resources to answer your question. (We are real people, not AI, so we will do our best to get back to you within 1 week!)

We Want to Hear From You!

Tobacco affects real people, so we want to better understand your beliefs and behaviors about tobacco.

Please take a few minutes to fill out this survey about tobacco. Your responses will be kept private. This information will only be used to make improvements to our tobacco education program. As a thank you, every month we do a drawing and one person who completed the survey will win a $50 Walmart gift card! (Click here for the Spanish version.)

Do you have a personal story of how tobacco has affected you or the people around you? We would love to hear it! Click here to fill out a short form and share your tobacco story with us.

Ready to Quit Tobacco?

If you use tobacco and are ready to quit, you can click here to get in contact with Quit Now Indiana for FREE 24/7 quit help! You can also call 1-800-QUIT-NOW or text READY to 34191.

If you would like to be connected with a local tobacco control specialist, send an email to justbreatheindiana@gmail.com with your name and county of residence. Quitting tobacco is hard, but help and support is available!