Children face greater risk to tobacco exposure than adults do. Hence, they are more likely to develop life-threatening diseases because of their immature immune system and smaller respiration rates.

Physical exposure to tobacco smoke which include second hand smoke (SHS) and environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) makes children at high risk for developing frightening diseases such as sudden infant death syndrome (SID), acute respiratory infections which include severe asthma and chronic bronchitis, as well as decreased lung functions. Children who are regularly exposed to smoke from smoker parents are even at higher risk in developing such diseases including coronary heart disease (CHD), cognitive impairments, and early emphysema upon adulthood. Signs of children largely affected through smoke exposure may include failure of studies due to decreased in mathematical and visio-spatial reasoning, weakness, and sickly characteristics.

Children who are born with mothers exposed to SHS or chain smokers are prone to have lower birth weight, smaller head circumference, and may possess various congenital anomalies. Exposure to SHS also puts children at risk for developing mental retardation and impaired cognition and behavior.

Social exposure to smoke from movies and films also influence children to initiate tobacco use. The more children start using tobacco, the more likely are the younger ones to follow the same thing. When not controlled, this situation can result to high frequency of tobacco use; therefore, also increasing the number of youngsters who can be affected with the exposure to tobacco exposure.

The susceptibility of children to the dangers and lingering of tobacco use actually highlights the importance of eliminating the exposure to tobacco smoke whether at home, outdoors, or in movies and films.

Product modification on tobacco products like cigarettes has long been a coherent program in many countries. The World Health Organization (WHO) suggests that modification and emission of some tobacco ingredients, such that of UK, is a good way to diminish the dangerous effects of SHS exposure to non-smokers.

The government’s supposition on changing the ingredients of tobacco will eventually pave the way to the introduction of low tar brands of cigarette. According to WHO, this is a good way of reducing the risk of tobacco exposure. However, a study from the Ontario Tobacco Research Unit suggests that this can also result to both positive and negative impacts given the fact that tobacco industries will always find a way to make their products sell.

The following are the positive impacts of tobacco product modification to smokers and non-smokers:

• Reducing additives in tobacco may change the social norm, attitudes, and beliefs towards tobacco products
• Lighter ingredients on smoke may reduce toxins making them less dangerous to the people
• Less tasting tobacco smoke may reduce product appeal to people, which will eventually cause smokers to quit smoking

The following are the negative impacts of tobacco product modification to smokers and non-smokers:

• Changes in the flavor, such as adding menthol effect may cause more people to become addicted
• Lighter cigarettes may cause smokers to crave for more to achieve satisfaction

The study also shows that tobacco industries may add alternatives to replace some additives in tobacco products to retain its appeal. The process is yet unknown, but studies suggests that this may also cause several changes to the trend of smokers and nonsmokers. According to research, product changes or low product toxicity profile may potentially cause the same harm to people given the fact that tobacco industries are able to substitute ingredients without the revelation of the process. Despite that there are different levels of toxicity of tobacco products sold nowadays; several studies still emphasize their dangerous effects to health. Many researches also focus on digging up the underlying effects of these changes to mankind.