Secondhand Smoke Facts
Exposure
Secondhand smoke is the number one source of indoor air pollution, and it poses a health threat to
most Coloradoans. (Raisesmokefreekids.com)
A person standing 20 inches from a burning cigarette may breathe in 10 times more cancer-causing
chemicals than the smoker. An hour spent in a smoke-filled room is equal to smoking one cigarette.
(Raisesmokefreekids.com)
Smoke-filled rooms have up to six times the air pollution of a busy highway.
(Raisesm okefreekid s.com)
There is no risk-free level of secondhand smoke exposure. Even brief exposure can be dangerous.
(Centers for Disease Control)
Health Effects
Tobacco smoke contains 4,000 chemicals and more than 60 chemicals classified as carcinogens,
including formaldehyde, cyanide, arsenic, carbon monoxide, methane, benzene, and radioactive
polonium-210. (State Tobacco Education and Prevention Partnership)
Secondhand smoke has been designated as a human cancer-causing agent by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the National Toxicology Program, and the International Agency for
Research on Cancer. (Raisesmokefreekids.com)
Nonsmokers who are exposed to secondhand smoke at home or work increase their heart
disease risk by 25–30% and their lung cancer risk by 20–30%. (Centers for Disease Control)
Breathing secondhand smoke has immediate harmful effects on the cardiovascular system that
can increase the risk of heart attack. (Centers for Disease Control)
Secondhand smoke kills 60,000 nonsmokers in the U.S. each year and is known to cause lung
cancer, heart disease, nasal sinus cancer, and respiratory disease. (Raisesmokefreekids.com)
Effects on Children
Secondhand smoke exposure causes respiratory symptoms in children and slows their lung
growth. (Centers for Disease Control)
Almost 60% of U.S. children aged 3–11 years—or almost 22 million children—are exposed to
secondhand smoke. (Centers for Disease Control)
Each year in the U.S., secondhand smoke exposure is responsible for 150,000–300,000 new
cases of bronchitis and pneumonia in children aged less than 18 months. This results in 7,500–
15,000 hospitalizations, annually. (Centers for Disease Control)
Pueblo Tobacco Education and Prevention Partnership
(719) 583-4334
Secondhand Smoke Facts
Myth vs. Fact
Opening a window while
smoking will the clear the air
of smoke
Opening a window or turning on a fan can not completely remove the poisonous chemicals in secondhand smoke from the air. In fact, not even the most expensive air cleaning
systems are able to clear the air of all poisons in secondhand smoke.
If you can not smell the
smoke, it must be gone.
Many of the dangerous chemicals found in smoke have no odor, so it is hard to tell if
they are in the air. These chemicals can stay in the air for up to three hours after a cigarette is put out, and they can stick to fabrics like clothes, furniture, and carpet for weeks.
Smoking in the next room
When you (or anyone else) smoke in your home or in your car, there is no safe distance
can protect my kids from sec- between the smoke and your kids. No matter where a cigarette is smoked in your home,
ondhand smoke.
the entire house ends up sharing the air.
The only way to protect chil- Although quitting is a great solution to smoking, it is not the only choice adults have.
dren from secondhand smoke Stepping outside when smoking reduces secondhand smoke for children and others in
is to quit.
the home.
New Tobacco Products
Hookah
The hookah, which originated in India in the 1500’s, is a glass or metal water-pipe usually highly decorated and
shaped somewhat like a bottle or small tank with a long, flexible cord pipe. In most hookahs, hot charcoal is
placed on top of the tobacco to heat it. (Transcultural Tobacco-2003) Tobacco smoked in hookah pipes, also called
shisha, is often fruit flavored such as apple, strawberry and a variety of other flavors. Hookah tobacco is purchased in blocks, ranging in price from $6.00-$12.00 or squares from $2.00-$4.00. Hookah tobacco contains the
same chemicals found in all tobacco, including nicotine. Secondhand hookah smoke contains the same cancercausing particulates found in secondhand cigarette smoke. In fact, in a 60-minute hookah session smokers are
exposed to 100 to 200 times the volume of smoke inhaled from a single cigarette. (World Health Organization, 2005) In
addition, the charcoal used in the tobacco heating process produces the toxin, carbon monoxide. Sharing a hookah may also increase the transmission risk of tuberculosis, viruses such as herpes or hepatitis, and other illnesses. (Pediatrics, 2005)
Cigarillos
Cigarillos use a tobacco leaf for wrapping instead of paper like cigarettes. Cigarillos usually contain fewer additives than cigarettes though often they have more than large cigars. They are meant to be smoked like a cigar
and not inhaled like a cigarette. Each cigarillo contains about 3 grams of tobacco (cigarettes have 1 gram) and
are usually less than 7 inches long. (Wikipedia, Centers for Disease Contraol)
Bidis (also beedi)
A bidi is a thin cigarette wrapped in a plant leaf called tendu and secured at one end with a colored thread. The
tobacco inside is often flavored. This South Asian cigarette is smaller than its Western counterpart and contains
less tobacco yet produces three times more carbon monoxide and contains more than three to five times more
tar and nicotine. Unlike most cigarettes, bidis are unfiltered and may have more harmful health effects.
(Tobaccofreekids.org)
Pueblo Tobacco Education and Prevention Partnership
(719) 583-4334