Report: 2-year-old removed, to be placed into adoption after home found filled with cigarette smoke

LONDON -- Healthcare and child protection workers took a 2-year-old boy away from his parents after health visitors became concerned that cigarette smoke in the boy's home hurt his health, SKY News reports.

According to SKY News, a health care worker in Britain was called to the home after reports the boy's health was deteriorating. Immediately upon entering the home, she noted the house was the smokiest she had visited in her 10-year career as a social worker.

Since the boy living in the home recently showed signs of breathing problems, British Judge Louise Pemberton decided the child should be put up for adoption following the report. It is unclear if the child has yet been adopted, or if this is a ruling  the parents can appeal.

Little information other than the judge's notes were available.

"On entering the living room Ms Allen described being able to see a visible cloud of smoke surrounding the father and (the boy)," Pemberton said. "(The boy) was asleep on the sofa and had been unwell for some time at this point."

The judge continued, SKY News reports.

"Ms Allen described the room as 'so smoke entrenched that I had difficulty breathing.'"

It is unknown if this is the first such case of a child removed from a home because of cigarette smoke.