Smokers are banned from fostering
 

Smokers in a north-east London borough will not be able to foster children from January 2010 - unless there are "exceptional circumstances".


The ban was passed on Tuesday evening by Redbridge councillors who voted unanimously in favour of the policy.
Redbridge Council wants to protect children from "the damaging effects of passive and second-hand smoke".
But the Fostering Network said it was concerned the policy could prevent good people from becoming foster parents. <!-- E SF -->
<!-- S IBOX --><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=231 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width=5></TD><TD class=sibtbg> This is another attempt to stigmatise smokers and separate them from the rest of society


Forest, smokers' rights group

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!-- E IBOX -->
Cabinet member for children, Tory councillor, Michael Stark, said: "We know this is a difficult issue because some people will feel it is an intrusion on personal freedoms, but we also know that smoking increases the risk of serious illness in childhood."
A spokesman for the national charity Fostering Network said: "We certainly view this as a good move in terms of creating a smoke-free environment for a child, but we don't agree that a blanket ban on any smokers becoming foster carers is the right thing."
The council said the new policy was the result of scientific evidence which showed second-hand smoke to be a cause of lung cancer and childhood respiratory disease. It said young children were particularly susceptible to the effects of second-hand smoke because their lungs and airways are small and their immune systems immature.

Full story:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7710371.stm

I think this is a good move, i don't think it's an infringment on rights, because in a fostering situation, it isn't parenting/lifestyle decisions, it's about providing the best environment for a child who has already endured some degree of trauma to not be with their biological parents (or their usual guardians). Smoking does affect children, most prominently with SIDS; also, considering that some children to be fostered are coming from vulnerable backgrounds, their health may already be compromised by neglect (or a previous bad environment, malnutrition etc) and so need to be somewhere they can be safe, emotionally and physically.

What if they only smoke outside?
My mums friend is an AMAZING foster mum, she's fostered a ridiculous amount of children over about 30years. She smokes but always outside and never around the children. If she hadn't been allowed to foster, a lot of children would have missed out on a stable home.

Ali xox

Are you saying that smokers should not be allowed to become parents?

As Ali said, just because they smoke, doesn't mean they don't smoke outside and away from the children?

^^ Still though, smoking is a choice.

Dicky!

It's a choice and that choice should not be taken away. Freedom of choice, freedom of thought and freedom of expression are being rapidly eroded in our society by a nanny state that believes it knows better than we do.

If they smoke outside, I don't see what the problem is.

I must admit, I feel that's a little on the harsh side, too. The only way I would feel that smoking outside would still not be a good idea would be if the child insisted on following them outside every single time.

I don't know about anyone else, but I wouldn't have thought that would happen very often.

I'm sure a new law will be passed that allows people to hurl abuse and spit on smokers in the street soon.
It's ridiculous how far this is going. It's a personal choice, leave them alone. Granted, it's bad for others but if they smoke outside there should be no problem. I think it's really unfair on people who really want to foster a kid. It's just not cool, as far as I'm concerned.
I agree with the whole erosion of freedoms thing above, as well.

Smoking is a choice, sure, but it happens to be a choice that is potentially damaging to children in the household. Not allowing smokers to become foster parents doesn't take away their choice to smoke, it just means that people who choose to smoke, thereby making their household less suitable for children, aren't allowed to become foster parents. It's also a choice to leave dirty dishes in the sink to grow mold, to intentionally feed the mice in your house instead of killing them (I've actually done that), to leave sex toys lying around the house, to travel all the time or stay out late every night, to eat nothing but microwave dinners and Pop-Tartes, to never clean your apartment, to not fix a leaking roof, to never wash your clothes or hair, to never wear clothes in your home, to host sex parties with consenting adults in your home, and so on... But doing those things would generally disqualify you from being a foster parent. Refusing to place foster children with people who choose to live in a manner that makes their home an unsuitable environment for their child doesn't take away their right to choose to live that way. Becoming a foster parent isn't a right -- it's conditional on demonstrating the ability to adequately care for a vulnerable child, and maintaining a safe and healthy home environment suitable for a child.

Also, even if the foster parent only smokes outside, what kind of example are they setting for their foster child? Kids in foster care have been separated from their parents, and most have been abused or neglected, which makes them especially vulnerable to turning to drugs and alcohol. And kids who see their foster parent smoking, and have easy access to cigarettes (which they would if their foster parent has cigarettes, even if he/she only smokes them outside), is a lot more likely to start smoking him/herself. And while it's eventually the child's choice to smoke if he/she wants to, it's illegal until he/she reaches the legal age, so it doesn't infringe on anyone's right to smoke to take measures to reduce the chances of underage children smoking.

I agree with Emily.
Well said, Em.

thats actually ridiculous. So theyre going to deny kids a decent home with a caring family who'll love them, because they smoke? world is going crazy.

I think it's ridiculous too. I agree with not smoking indoors and around children, but smoking outside is fine!

Oh yeah....I forgot to say that....smoking inside,no....outside is fine.

this is shocking :@ made me angry actully the goverment sucks

If you wanted to foster a child that badly, you'd give up smoking. Personally, I think it's a good idea.

What is the positive route of this?
Because children may pick up on it??
Well, sorry to burst people's bubbles, but most people start smoking during there teen years which is usually brought on by peer pressure.

Many adults/parents smoke outdoors - atleast the ones i know of. My mother smokes, and has done since i was born, and always smoked IN the house, but now more studies show how damaging second hand smoke is, many parents either quit smoking during pregnancy or when the child is born, or, they smoke outside when the child is born, therefor not putting the child at risk.

My mother fostered when my oldest brother was born. As i stated above, she smoked, but she was the most loving foster mother.
Just because someone SMOKES doesn't mean they should be penalised by having parental rights taken away from them.

I think it's absolutely ridiculous. I think the goverment should be concentrating on more worth while topics, other than a parent who smokes.

While we're at it, let's ban parents from having a glass of wine in the evening. I mean, if a child was to pick up on this, they may be tempted to go drink themselves.
*Rolls Eyes*

Gah. Ridiculous.

I'm mostly for it.
If people were such good foster parents, they'd be willing to give it up for the kids.

No one's talking about taking away anyone's parental rights just because they smoke. Being a foster parent isn't a right, it's conditional on meeting certain criteria to provide a safe and healthy environment for particularly vulnerable children. The requirements for being a foster parent are a lot higher than the requirements for simply not having your own children taken away, and this isn't about parental rights at all.

It is about parental rights, because a person who is wishing to foster, is having those possible rights taken away from them, for something that they do.

A massive majority of parents now smoke outside - if at all. Lets face it, if you've had a stressful day caring for children (of any age, whether they're your own or not) you open a bottle of wine, or pop outside for a cigarette. It's life.
If they're so horrendously concerned about putting children in a safe & healthy enviroment, make it a requirement to smoke outside of there home! Smoking doesn't stop a parent from keeping the CHILD safe/healthy UNLESS they are smoking around them.

I'm not understanding the "Well if they want to be a foster parent that bad, they'd give it up" er..well, many people aren't able to become foster parents because it is SUCH a long/drawn out process, that many are put off/unable to because of there age. So if anyone is actually willing to wait for months, sometimes years, to become a foster parent, then good for them, smoking should not make a blind bit of difference to how much they will love or care for that child!

Smoking has been around for hundreds of years, and many parents have been smoking around there children before all these statistics come out, the good majority still went on to lead very healthy successful lives.
Admittedly i wouldn't smoke around my own children, and if any guidelines are to be put into place, then it should be for them to smoke OUTside of the home, so passive smoking doesn't become a problem.

This whole smoking rubbish is just getting beyond a joke now. Seriously. They're more important issues in this world than worrying about whether a foster parent smokes or not.
People need to sort there priorities out. *Rolls eyes*

What worries me is that there is already a lack of foster carers and children who can't be placed in a foster home will go to a childrens home, which in my experience is not a nice place to be.
Having been in foster care myself I can say that I have met fantastic foster carers who do smoke, but they all smoked outside. It would be such a waste to disallow them to foster because they choose to smoke.
I know people will say, well if they want to foster children enough then they will stop smoking but some people find it really hard to stop smoking and at the end of the day it's the babies, children and young people that suffer.
I can see that smoking can cause damage so definately, foster carers should make every attempt to quit smoking and the social services should help them to do this if the carer requests and if they do smoke, then the carer must smoke outside.
In my experience, no foster parent has ever glamourised smoking towards me and that is the most important thing. I was always educated about why smoking was bad etc.
I know I've said it already but honestly, I would have rathered when I was needing a foster placement, a foster carer who smoked than being in a kids home.