Sorry I'm a bit late coming on board with this. My mother is a smoker and I did research into "third hand smoke" (Google it there's lots of info out there. This is a great place to start though: http://www.abc.net.au/science/articl...09/2814199.htm). Third hand smoke is the chemicals that seep into clothes, walls, floors, etc from cigarettes. It's not conclusive yet whether people are at risk from third hand smoke but a study did find that "cancer-causing compounds linger on surfaces for months" (quoted from the abc website link above). Anyway, I do believe if there are cancer-causing, nasty chemicals seeping into clothes, walls, etc then they can be released and affect people. So I talked to my mother about it, which was hard, but I told her that there are studies that show these chemicals get into objects and linger for a very long time. When she visits me she has to smoke outside of course and I make her wear a smokers jacket. After she finishes her cigarette she has to linger outside for a few minutes, so all the smoke is fully exhaled from her lungs. When she comes indoors she takes off the jacket and washes her hands. Only then can she interact with my DD. I also rarely visit my mum at her place because of the fear of the chemicals at her place (she smokes indoors). But sadly I've needed her to pick up my DD sometimes and she does smoke in the car (not while DD is in there!!) but my DD always comes home smelling of cigarettes and it really upsets me. So I do try and avoid having DD in my mother's car. It's also very hard when I need my mother to babysit because she will hold out for as long as possible but sometimes gives in and "has" to have a cigarette. She will take my DD outside for a walk and smoke and I really worry about second hand smoke getting into my DDs lungs.

It's so hard when you have a parent/s who smoke and you want/need them in your and your children's lives. But I think it's important to protect your child from as much exposure to cigarettes as possible. I would do anything to ensure my DD's health and telling my mother to abide by a few rules is better than risking my DD becoming ill because I didn't do anything IMO.

Good luck with it all!