Easy as Health
- Health Information for a Better Life
Second-hand Smoke
There is NO safe level of exposure to second-hand smoke
Second-hand smoke – also known as environmental tobacco smoke (ETS)
or passive smoke – is a combination of the smoke exhaled by a
smoker, and the smoke that drifts into the air from the burning end
of a cigarette, pipe or cigar (sidestream smoke).
Second-hand smoke is responsible for more than 1,000 lung cancer
and heart disease deaths each year in Canada.
It is poisonous!
There are more than 4,000 chemical compounds in second-hand smoke,
including carbon monoxide, ammonia, hydrogen cyanide, and
formaldehyde.
At least 50 of these chemical compounds can cause or promote cancer.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency has declared
secondhand smoke a Class A cancer-causing substance. Class A is the
most dangerous of cancer agents. There is no known safe level of
exposure.
Second-hand smoke has more than twice as much nicotine and tar as
the smoke smokers inhale.
It also has five times
the carbon monoxide, which decreases the amount of oxygen in the
blood.
About two-thirds of the smoke from a burning cigarette is not
inhaled by the smoker but enters the surrounding environment. The
contaminated air is inhaled by anyone in that area.
Exposure to second-hand smoke for even short periods can cause eye,
nose and throat irritation, headaches, dizziness, nausea, coughing
and wheezing. It can severely aggravate symptoms in people with
allergies or asthma. Long-term exposure has been linked to heart
disease, cancer and death.
In young children, second-hand smoke can result in chronic
respiratory illness, impaired lung function and middle ear
infection. For pregnant women, second-hand smoke can result in low
birth weight babies and a greater likelihood of complications during
pregnancy and delivery.
Ventilation systems do not remove all the harmful chemicals found
in secondhand smoke. There is only one way to eliminate
second-hand smoke from indoor air – remove the source.
Municipal by-laws that restrict smoking in public places help to
protect workers who otherwise must work in environments highly
polluted by tobacco smoke. Many restaurant, bar and casino workers
experience higher risks from exposure to secondhand smoke in the
workplace. Colman (2001) states that in restaurants, bars and
casinos, second-hand smoke levels can be much higher than in
workplaces that do not have smoking restrictions. In addition, food
service workers have a higher rate of lung cancer than the general
population.
What can you do about second-hand smoke?
Support smoke-free by-laws covering public places, including
workplaces. Contact your municipality’s health office or your
elected representative.
Encourage others to support smoke- free public places.
Make your home and car smoke-free.
Avoid places where smoking is permitted.
Take every opportunity to let others know that second-hand smoke is
much more than a nuisance. It’s a public health hazard.
Health Canada (2002). Go Smokefree! The Facts About Tobacco,
www.gosmokefree.ca
Colman, Ronald (2001). The Economic Impact of Smoke-Free Workplaces:
An Assessment for Nova Scotia, GPI Atlantic.
