Facts about Secondhand Smoking

Tobacco-related diseases are considered as the biggest killers in today's world. Over 500,000 people die every year in the United States due to smoking-related diseases. Apart from this, every year, around 40,000 to 65,000 deaths are caused by second hand or passive smoking. What is second hand smoking? Is it harmful enough to cause death, even in people who have never smoked in their life? Let us find out the answers in the following paragraphs.

Second hand smoking is the involuntary inhalation of second hand smoke from tobacco products. Second hand smoke is classified into two types – mainstream and sidestream. Mainstream smoke means the smoke inhaled and exhaled by the smoker and the sidestream smoke consists of smoke released from end of the lit cigarette. Second hand smoke, otherwise known as passive or environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), diffuses in the surrounding air, which is inhaled by people in the vicinity. This process is called second hand or passive smoking.

People were unaware of the harms caused by second hand smoking, till the latter half of the twentieth century. Even though the first anti-smoking campaign started in the 1920s, the studies and debates regarding health risks from second hand smoke gained momentum only during the 1970s. The awareness about health risks associated with second hand smoke lead to smoking bans in public places in many countries. The following are the diseases caused by frequent or long-term exposure to second hand smoke:

• Exposure to second hand smoke is one of the main causes of cancer. The risk of developing lung cancer, breast cancer and renal cell carcinoma is found to be higher in people, who are exposed to this smoke on a regular basis.
• Second hand smoke is directly linked to the risk of heart diseases, like reduced heart rate variability, higher heart rate and atherosclerosis.
• Increased risk of asthma, bronchitis and ear infections.
• It can cause cognitive impairment and dementia in people above the age of 50.
• In case of pregnant women, there are chances of premature birth or newborns with abnormally low birth weight. It is also suggested that second hand smoke can cause sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

Apart from these diseases, second hand smoke can worsen some diseases like asthma, allergies, lung infections, tuberculosis, etc. It can also cause tooth decay in children.

According to some studies, second smoke is carcinogenic and both non smokers and smokers are exposed to the same carcinogens. It is also proved that second hand smoke contains around 4,000 chemicals, including 69 carcinogens like lead, formaldehyde, benzene, arsenic, and radioactive polonium-210. Second hand smoke contains more nicotine, carbon monoxide and tar, as compared to the smoke inhaled directly from cigarettes. Exposure to this smoke for a small period of around 10 minutes, can affect the cardiovascular system, which in turn affects the heart rate and the blood pressure.

Second hand smoke has been categorized as the third leading cause of preventable deaths in the United States. Many countries have enacted legislations to ban smoking in workplaces and public places, but individual effort is necessary to tackle this problem. It is important to make people aware of the health risks associated with smoking and second hand smoking. Let us all try to spread this awareness and make the world a better place to live in.