...it may just be a literary convention but you actually require a license to own a dog or a cat in this town...

the kid never had a chance. the kid is maybe ten years old but the kid never had a chance. because her old man loves her to death. loves her so much, in fact, that he takes her everywhere he goes. but he takes something else with him everywhere he goes, too: his smokes. with his scrawny build, he often resembles a towering chimney on one of those long-lost stelco plants. well, there they are again. the two of them. father and daughter. on the stoop. in the garage. on the way to the park. and the thing is the kid probably has no idea what's been hitting her all these years. because unlike the youthful victim of physical or sexual abuse at the hands of one's protectors, the child growing up inside an inveterate smoker's home will likely never recognize the insidious harm that comes from ingesting a daily dosage of secondhand smoke. because there are no scars left behind. because there are no nightmares that follow one into adulthood. because there are no progressive information campaigns in schools warning against the dangers of sharing space with the marlboro man. and so the kid is left to fend for herself. even the local do-gooders at child protective services would never dare to intervene. not in response to a complaint concerning a perfectly legal activity like enjoying a cigarette or two in the comfort of one's own home. or on one's stoop. or in one's garage. or on the way to the park. to play.

Since 1964, 34 separate US Surgeon General’s reports have been written to make the public aware of the health issues linked to tobacco and secondhand smoke (SHS). The ongoing research used in these reports still supports the fact that tobacco and SHS are linked to serious health problems that could be prevented. The reports have highlighted many important findings on SHS, such as:

• SHS kills children and adults who don’t smoke.
• SHS causes disease in children and in adults who don’t smoke.
• Exposure to SHS while pregnant increases the chance that a woman will have a spontaneous abortion, stillborn birth, low birth-weight baby, and other pregnancy and delivery problems.
• Babies and children exposed to SHS are at an increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), acute respiratory infections, ear infections, and more severe and frequent asthma attacks.
• Smoking by parents can cause wheezing, coughing, bronchitis, and pneumonia, and slow lung growth in their children.
• SHS immediately affects the heart, blood vessels, and blood circulation in a harmful way. Over time it can cause heart disease, strokes, and heart attacks.
• SHS causes lung cancer in people who have never smoked. Even brief exposure can damage cells in ways that set the cancer process in motion.
• Chemicals in tobacco smoke damage sperm which might reduce fertility and harm fetal development. SHS is known to damage sperm in animals, but more studies are needed to find out its effects in humans.
• There is no safe level of exposure to SHS. Any exposure is harmful.
• Many millions of Americans, both children and adults, are still exposed to SHS in their homes and workplaces despite a great deal of progress in tobacco control.
• On average, children are exposed to more SHS than non-smoking adults.

(http://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancercauses/tobaccocancer/secondhand-smoke)