Facts About
Secondhand Smoke
What Is Secondhand Smoke?
Tobacco smoke contains about 4,800 chemicals. Of these, at least 69 have been linked
to cancer. Each time someone smokes, poisons such as benzene, formaldehyde, and
carbon monoxide are released into the air. This means smokers aren’t the only ones
inhaling these harmful substances. Everyone around them is affected, too. Many studies
have shown that secondhand smoke harms nonsmokers, causing them to develop diseases
such as lung cancer and heart disease. Secondhand smoke also irritates the eye, nose,
and throat. And, it can irritate the lungs, leading to coughing, congestion, and reduced
breathing ability. The fact is: Smoking is hazardous to everyone’s health.
Health Effects of Secondhand Smoke
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and other organizations world-wide have
studied secondhand smoke. According to their research, it really does kill. Each year,
secondhand smoke is responsible for about 3,400 lung cancer deaths and up to 69,000
deaths from heart disease among adult nonsmokers in the United States.
Children Are at Special Risk
Secondhand smoke is especially harmful to the children of smokers. Babies whose
parents smoke in the home have a much higher rate of illness than babies of nonsmoking
parents. Exposure to secondhand smoke decreases a child’s ability to breathe. It inflames
the airways and causing them to fill with mucus. The lungs of young children are
particularly sensitive. This makes children more likely than adults to cough and
wheeze upon exposure.
If a young child is exposed to secondhand smoke, lung development can be affected. This
increases the risks of both short- and long-term respiratory illness. Secondhand smoke is
associated with 7,500 to 15,000 hospitalizations for bronchitis or pneumonia in infants
and toddlers each year. It results in over 700,000 physician office visits for fluid buildup
inside the ear, as well.
Secondhand smoke is also a powerful asthma trigger. It contributes to between 8,000
to 26,000 new asthma cases in children, and 400,000 to 1 million asthma flare ups in
children each year. Emergency room visits for asthma are more frequent in children of
smokers, and those children have been found to need more medication to control their
asthma than do children of nonsmoking parents.
Protecting the Public
By late 2006, 16 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and hundreds of communities
across the country passed laws to make public places (including restaurants and bars)
smoke-free. These laws protect the people who visit those places. More importantly, they
protect the workers who spend many hours there each day.
Despite this progress, more states and communities need to pass smoke-free air laws.
Some states and communities still allow smoking in designated areas in public places
and work sites. This is not an effective way to reduce exposure to the harmful chemicals
found in secondhand smoke. Smoke-free policies are the only way to eliminate exposure
to secondhand smoke.
To help protect yourself and your family from secondhand smoke, find out what laws
govern smoking in your state or community. Avoid places that allow smoking if you can.
For current information about state and local tobacco control laws, visit the American
Lung Association’s online database at http://slati.lungusa.org.
Keeping Your Home Smoke-Free
To protect your family’s health, designate your home “smoke-free.” Have people smoke
outside. Be sure they are far enough away from open doors and windows that the smoke
doesn’t drift back inside. This is especially critical if children live in the house.
Being able to breathe clean air, free from harmful, irritating tobacco smoke is a serious
issue for everyone. At home, at work, and in other public and private places, it is important
to speak up about how dangerous smoking can be to smokers and nonsmokers alike.