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Easy as Health
- Health Information for a Better Life
Facts on Second Hand
Smoke
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Two thirds of smoke
from a cigarette is not inhaled by the smoker, but enters the air
around the smoker.
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Second-hand smoke has
at least twice the nicotine and tar as the smoke inhaled by the
smoker.
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Regular exposure to
second-hand smoke increases the chances of contracting lung
disease by 25% and heart disease by 10%.
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Second-hand smoke
aggravates symptoms in people with allergies and asthma, and can
cause eye, nose and throat irritations, headaches, dizziness,
nausea, coughing and wheezing in otherwise healthy people.
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Children have a
higher metabolism and can absorb higher amounts of smoke than
adults.
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Infants and children
exposed to second-hand smoke are more likely to suffer chronic
respiratory illness, impaired lung function, middle ear
infections, food allergies and can even succumb to sudden infant
death syndrome.
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2.4 million Canadian
homes with children under 12 years of age report regular exposure
to second-hand smoke.
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Electronic air
cleaning systems would need to increase the air-exchange rate a
thousand fold to be effective -- resulting in gale force winds!
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Increasing ventilation
will dilute the smoke in a room, but will not make it safe since
there is no known safe level of exposure to the carcinogens in
cigarette smoke.
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Canadians spend
most of their time indoors.
More than 1,000 non-smokers will die this year in Canada due to
tobacco use -- over 300 lung cancer deaths and at least 700 deaths
from coronary heart disease will be caused by second-hand smoke.
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Second-hand smoke is a
combination of poisonous gases, liquids, and breathable particles
that are harmful to our health.
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Second-hand smoke
consists of mainstream smoke, the smoke inhaled and exhaled by the
smoker, and sidestream smoke, the smoke released directly from the
end of a burning cigarette.
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Second-hand
smoke contains over 4,000 chemical compounds, 50 of which are
associated with, or known to cause cancer.
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Two thirds of the
smoke from a burning cigarette is not inhaled by the smoker but
enters into the surrounding environment.
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The contaminated
air is inhaled by anyone in that area.
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The U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency has officially labeled second -hand smoke as a
"class A" cancer-causing substance. Class A is considered the most
dangerous of cancer agents and there is no known safe level of
exposure
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Second-hand smoke has
twice as much nicotine and tar as the smoke that smokers inhale.
It also has five times the carbon monoxide which decreases the
amount of oxygen in our blood.
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Second-hand smoke
causes disease and death in healthy non-smokers.
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Exposure for as little
as 8 to 20 minutes causes physical reactions linked to heart and
stroke disease:
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The health effects on
children exposed to second-hand smoke include Sudden Infant Death
Syndrome (SIDS) and breathing problems in children as young as 18
months of age.
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Children exposed to
second-hand smoke in their homes are more likely to suffer
breathing problems such as asthma and damage to their lungs.
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Children are twice as
likely to smoke if their parents are smokers.
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If you are a
non-smoker, exposure to second-hand smoke increases your chance of
lung cancer by 25%, heart disease by 10%, and cancer of the
sinuses, brain, breast, uterine cervix, thyroid, as well as
leukemia and lymphoma.
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Although only 3 in 10
people report being exposed to second-hand smoke, 9 in 10 people
have detectable levels in their bodies. The test measures exposure
that has occurred over the last 3 days.
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Second-hand smoke is a
major source of indoor air pollution, and the greatest source of
air particle pollution.
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The U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency estimates that the risk of developing cancer
from exposure to second-hand smoke is about 57 times greater than
the total risk posed by all outdoor air contaminants regulated
under U.S. environmental law.
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More than three times
as many infants die from second-hand smoke-related Sudden Infant
Death Syndrome as from child abuse or homicide.
Controls
Increasing ventilation will dilute the smoke but will not make it
safe, since there is no known safe level of exposure to
cancer-causing agents. Restricting smokers to separate rooms will
only help if these rooms have their own ventilation systems.
Electronic air filters and air purifiers may remove some smoke
particles from the air, but they cannot remove those that have
settled on food, furnishings, skin and other surfaces. Their effect
on the gaseous components of second-hand smoke is unknown.
There is only one way to eliminate second-hand smoke from indoor
air: remove the source.
References
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Health
Consequences of Smoking: Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease. A report
of the Surgeon General. Rockville, Maryland: U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Office on Smoking
and Health, 1984.
U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare. Smoking and
Health: A Report of the Surgeon General. Rockville, Maryland: U.S.
Department of Health, Education and Welfare, Public Health Service,
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, Office on Smoking and
Health, 1979.
Hopkin, J. Genetics and lung disease [editorial]. Br Med J
1991;302:1222-1223.
Cunningham, Rob. Smoke & Mirrors - The Canadian Tobacco War. Ottawa:
International Development Research Centre, 1996.
Makomaski-Illing, E.M. and M.J. Kaiserman. Mortality Attributable to
Tobacco Use in Canada and its Regions. Chronic Diseases in Canada.
1999;20(3):111-117
DiFranza, J.R. and R.A. Lew. Effect of Maternal Cigarette Smoking on
Pregnancy Complications and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Journal of
Family Practice, Vol. 40, 1995, pp. 385-394.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Report on Carcinogens
- 9th Edition. Public Health Service, National Toxicology Program.
Research Triangle Park, N.C. 2000.
Wells, J.A. Passive Smoking as a Cause of Heart Disease. Journal of
the American College of Cardiology, Vol. 24, August 1994, pp.
546-554.
Margaret de Groh and Howard I Morrison, Environmental tobacco smoke
and deaths from coronary heart disease in Canada, Chronic Diseases
in Canada, Volume 23, Number 1, pp 13-16 (2002)
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