Every thing you ever wanted to know about
secondhand tobacco smoke.
Most of us have heard that tobacco smoking is
dangerous to a person’s health, often leading to major respiratory problems as
well as lung cancer. Today, a battle continues to rage between the tobacco
companies and medical professionals, each with opposing views. The tobacco
companies obviously want people to keep buying tobacco even though it can kill
and the medical professionals are trying to educate the public on the
devastation smoking can have on a person’s body.
However, along with the health risks for the smoker, there are also substantial
health risks for the non-smoker. In this article, we will discuss what
secondhand smoke is, how it is produced, as well as the poisonous by-products
and why they are dangerous.
What is Secondhand Smoke?
Secondhand smoke is a mixture of various gases that come from the smoke when a
cigarette, pipe, or cigar burns. Typically, a person is exposed to secondhand
smoke when they are around family members of friends that smoke although it can
also come from sitting in a park, at a bar, or another public location where
people smoke.
This can be not only frustrating but also very unhealthy for a non-smoker. For
this reason, you will find that most restaurants and other public buildings in
the United States now ban smoking. With this, people can come and go without
having to worry about secondhand smoke.
What are the Byproducts of Secondhand Smoke, and are they Dangerous?
It will probably astound you to discover that there are more than 4,000 poisons
in the gases emitted from tobacco smoke. The problem is that more than 40 of
those substances have been proven to cause cancer in people and a large number
of the remaining substances cause irritation to the lungs, eyes, and skin. In
fact, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has classified
secondhand smoke as being a known cause of cancer in humans. From studies
performed the EPA estimates that close to 3,000 deaths occur each year just from
lung cancer. Effects of secondhand smoke are the number three killer in the
nation, causing more than 38,000 deaths each year. Several of these deaths are
of children and infants due to SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome). In addition,
secondhand smoke increases the risk of death from heart disease.
Summary
One of the most devastating effects of secondhand smoke is on innocent children.
Living in homes with parents that smoke, the children do not have the option of
leaving. Therefore, they are exposed to dangerous levels of secondhand smoke and
being so young, they are particularly vulnerable. Considering that children are
still developing and have higher rates of breathing than an adult, the amount of
secondhand being breathed puts them at significant risk.
If you want to do something good for your children, good for you, and good for
the environment, stop smoking. You will find that you cough less, sleep better,
have more energy, your clothes, and home, and car will smell better. Although to
quit smoking requires a serious commitment, it is worth all the effort. If you
consider that approximately 400,000 people in the United States die every year
from tobacco use, you should be encouraged to change.
Resource: The American Cancer Society
Feel free to copy this article for publication
as long as the resource box(with links) is left intact.
About the author / resource box:
Dr. Craig Donnelly founded BPA Air Quality Solutions / BreathePureAir.com as a
result of his experience with his patients, many of whom suffered from
allergies, asthma and airborne environmental sensitivities. Having been
diagnosed with asthma himself, Dr. Craig understood about the origin of the
health consequences many of his patients experienced on a daily basis from
breathing contaminated indoor air . BreathePureAir.com specializes in home air
purifiers, commercial air cleaners
and smoke
eaters and industrial air purifiers
solutions.
