Secondhand smoke, also known as environment tobacco smoke (ETS), is a very serious health threat, especially to children and pregnant women. Each year, ETS causes 30,000 - 60,000 adult deaths due to heart disease and 3,000 due to lung cancer. Nowadays, people realize that secondhand smoke is dangerous, so if they are asked politely, they will have no problem putting out their cigars/cigarettes.
Some of the negative effects of secondhand smoke are listed below. Following this, you will find a list of steps you can take to avoid ETS.
Adverse Effects of Secondhand Smoke
Asthma/Allergies
Secondhand smoke can make asthma worse - causing more frequent and more severe attacks.
Adults who were exposed to secondhand smoke as kids are twice as likely to develop asthma later on. Secondhand smoke may cause asthma in children.
Secondhand smoke can make allergy symptoms worse.
Colds, Bronchitis & Pneumonia
Children and adults who live with smokers have more respiratory infections - including colds, bronchitis, and pneumonia - than those who don't live with smokers.
Heart Disease
Secondhand smoke makes the heart beat faster and work harder
Exposure to secondhand smoke on a daily basis (at home or at work) doubles the risk of having a heart attack
Each year, 37,000 people die from heart disease caused by secondhand smoke.
Cancer
Secondhand smoke contains over 40 cancer-causing chemicals.
Recent studies have also linked secondhand smoke to cancers of the pancreas, kidney, bladder, cervix, breast and brain.
Children
More young children die because of parents' smoking than die from all unintentional injuries combined.
A baby has two times the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) if the mother, father or another caregiver smokes.
Exposure to secondhand smoke and smoking while pregnant are both linked to miscarriage, low birth weight and stillbirth.
Children can be burned by falling ashes or lighted cigarettes.
Results of secondhand smoke:
150,000 - 300,000 cases of bronchitis and pneumonia
15,000 hospitilizations
26,000 new cases of asthma
Up to 1.6 million doctor visits for middle ear infections
Avoid Secondhand Smoke
...at home.
Ask the person to smoke outside
Set up one "smoking area" in the home (a room with a door that can be closed).
Keep windows open and air the home frequently.
Remove ashtrays from the home.
...at work
Ask for no-smoking policy.
Ask people not to smoke near you.
Ask to be located by other nonsmokers
Open windows and air out workspace if possible.
...while driving
Make your own car a smoke-free space.
In other people's cars, ask that people not smoke.
Keep windows open if someone is smoking.
...in restaurants, theaters, and stores
Patronize nonsmoking businesses. Tell the owners or managers how important this is to you.
Ask to be seated in a nonsmoking section. Ask to be moved if you are seated near smokers.
If you choose not to go to businesses that allow smoking, let the managers know.
Special Thanks to Journeyworks Publishing, American Lung Association of Maryland, Inc., and ETR Associates for the information.
