What is second-hand smoke?
Second-hand smoke is a mixture of two forms of smoke from burning tobacco products:

(1) Side-stream smoke - smoke coming from a lighted cigarette, pipe, or cigar.

(2) Main-stream smoke - smoke exhaled by a smoker.

Second-hand smoke on non-smokers
When non-smokers are exposed to second-hand smoke, it is called passive smoking or involuntary smoking. Non-smokers who are exposed to second-hand smoke absorb nicotine and other harmful compounds. The greater the exposure, the greater the level of these harmful compounds to their body. Second-hand tobacco smoke contains more than 4,000 chemical compounds and more than 60 of these compounds are known or suspected to cause cancer.

Children are the ones most adversely affected by second-hand smoke, as their bodies are still developing. Exposing children to the hazardous poisons in second-hand smoke can hinder the growth of their lungs and put them in danger of severe respiratory diseases, effects that can last a lifetime.

Secondhand Smoke Exposure - About half of the smoke generated by every cigarette smoked is sidestream smoke. Sidestream smoke contains the same carcinogens as mainstream smoke, developmental toxins that alter the normal growth of cells, and mutagens that change cell genetics (National Cancer Institute, http://cis.nci.nih.gov/fact/3_9.htm).

According to Katherine Hammond, PhD, University of California at Berkeley’s School of Public Health, nonsmokers receive these equivalents of cigarette smoking:

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