Smokers in the United Kingdom might soon be banned from being foster parents, according to the Mail Online website. Redbridge, located in East London, is said to be the first council in the country to ban foster parents who smoke, no matter how old the child is that they want to look after, according to the website.

Naturally, smokers who want to become foster parents in the UK are unhappy, and foster organizations said they do not support the ban, as there is a national shortage of 10,000 foster carers.

As it stands now, most councils refuse to place children younger than five with people who smoke. Many, like the Redbridge Council, also do not allow smokers to look after disabled children or those with respiratory problems, according to the website.

The laws can go into effect in 2010 if the rules are backed by a council meeting, according to the site.

It would make sense if this law was passed. The health risks of smoking around children are well-documented.

According to the American Lung Association website, secondhand smoke is especially harmful to young children. It is responsible for between 150,000 and 300,000 lower respiratory tract infections in infants and children younger than 18 months of age, resulting in between 7,500 and 15,000 hospitalizations each year, and causes 430 sudden infant death syndrome deaths in the United States annually.

If this law passes in the UK, I would like to see it make its way to the U.S. This could help smokers who wish to become foster parents kick the habit.

The idea is for foster parents to take care of their children, and not confine them with acetone, cyanide, arsenic and chloroform, all of which are contained in a cigarette. Infants and young children should not be exposed to these chemicals and toxins. They do not have a choice, and there is nothing they can do about it.

In the U.S., there are currently there are 19 states, including California, that prohibit smoking in nearly all public places, such as restaurants, workplaces and bars.

The health of the child is important, and a foster parent who smokes around that child isn’t presenting them with the optimal healthy environment.

Kyle Kershner can be reached at [email protected]