2nd Hand Smoke • Back to Keeping Kids Safe If anyone smokes in the home or the car, it lingers longer than most people realize. Floating particles in the smoke are a problem, but so are the chemicals that get stuck to furniture, carpets and other surfaces. If you smoke in one room, you can’t prevent it from spreading throughout the rest of the house. Children take in a large amount of the ‘leftovers’ from smoking. They suffer more harm because they are crawling, playing and putting things in their mouth. Their bodies can’t clear out the harmful substances the same way an adult can.