Secondhand smoke: Avoid dangers in the air you breathe
Breathing the toxins in secondhand smoke can literally make you sick. Find out how to avoid secondhand smoke, which can cause cancer, asthma and more.
You don't smoke because you understand the dangers. But what about that thick cloud of secondhand smoke at your favorite restaurant? Or the smoky haze left behind by guests after an evening of partying? What about the effect of secondhand smoke on your children when smoking relatives come to visit?
These instances of secondhand smoke present health hazards comparable to smoking. High in toxic chemicals, secondhand smoke plays a role in causing or contributing to a number of health problems, from cardiovascular disease to cancer. The Surgeon General reported in 2006 that scientific evidence shows there is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke.
But secondhand smoke is often avoidable. Take steps to protect yourself and those you care about from secondhand smoke.
Toxins in secondhand smoke
What exactly is secondhand smoke? It's two different forms of smoke from cigarettes, pipes or cigars:
- Sidestream smoke comes directly from the burning tobacco product.
- Mainstream smoke is smoke that the smoker exhales.
Secondhand smoke is also known as environmental tobacco smoke, passive smoking, involuntary smoking and perhaps a more descriptive term, tobacco smoke pollution.
Regardless of what you call it, both types of secondhand smoke contain harmful chemicals — and a lot of them. Tobacco smoke contains more than 4,000 chemical compounds, more than 250 of which are toxic. And more than 50 of the chemicals in cigarette smoke are known or suspected to cause cancer. Included in secondhand smoke are:
- Formaldehyde
- Arsenic
- Cadmium
- Benzene
- Polonium
Here are a few more chemicals in secondhand smoke that might sound familiar, along with their effects on health:
- Ammonia — irritates your lungs
- Carbon monoxide — reduces oxygen in your blood
- Methanol — toxic when inhaled or swallowed
- Hydrogen cyanide — a potent poison that interferes with respiratory function
The dangerous particles in secondhand smoke can linger in the air for hours. Breathing them even for a short time — as little as 20 or 30 minutes — can harm you in a variety of ways. And breathing in secondhand smoke over years can be all the more dangerous.
Health threats to adults from secondhand smoke
Health experts have recognized the relationship between secondhand smoke and health risks for decades. Research exploring these connections continues.
Some of the known or suspected health risks include:
Cancer
Secondhand smoke is a known risk factor for lung cancer. Experts believe that secondhand smoke is to blame for about 3,400 deaths from lung cancer in adult nonsmokers each year in the United States. Secondhand smoke is also linked to cancer of the nasal sinuses.
Heart disease
Secondhand smoke harms the cardiovascular system of nonsmokers in many ways. For one thing, it causes heart disease, such as a heart attack. It also damages blood vessels, interferes with circulation and increases the risk of blood clots. It's estimated that some 35,000 nonsmokers die of secondhand smoke-related heart disease in the United States every year.
Lung disease
Chronic lung ailments, such as bronchitis and asthma, have been associated with secondhand smoke. Exposure to secondhand smoke is also associated with chest tightness at night and feelings of breathlessness after physical activity.
Health threats to children from secondhand smoke
Secondhand smoke has a marked effect on the health of infants and children. They're more vulnerable than adults are because they're still developing physically and generally have higher breathing rates, which means they may inhale greater quantities of secondhand smoke than adults do.
For children who live in households where someone smokes, the effects are worst during the child's first five years, since the child may spend the bulk of that time with a smoking parent or guardian. Ironically, infants are at the highest risk of secondhand smoke from their own mothers. A child who spends just one hour in a very smoky room is inhaling as many dangerous chemicals as if he or she smoked 10 or more cigarettes. And even when parents don't smoke at home or in the car, there can still be negative effects when children are exposed to the tobacco smoke pollution released from the clothing and hair of smoking parents.
Here's a look at some of the main health problems in infants and children associated with secondhand smoke.
Growth and development
Women who are exposed to secondhand smoke during pregnancy are at higher risk of having babies of slightly lower birth weight. This can cause a host of health problems for the baby, such as cerebral palsy or learning disabilities. Women who actively smoke during pregnancy expose their developing baby to passive smoke — the chemicals may pass through the placenta — and put the baby at risk of lower birth weight.
An infant who was exposed to secondhand smoke as a developing fetus may be at increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Post-birth exposure to secondhand smoke from the mother, father or others in the household also increases the risk of SIDS.
Asthma and other respiratory problems
Secondhand smoke may cause asthma in children. In children who already have asthma, secondhand smoke can make episodes more frequent and more severe.
Secondhand smoke is also tied to infections of the lower respiratory tract, such as bronchitis and pneumonia, especially in those younger than 6. It's also associated with irritation of the upper respiratory tract and a small reduction in lung function.
Middle ear conditions
Children living in households with smokers are more likely to develop middle ear infections (otitis media).
Source: MayoClinic.com
