| Secondhand
smoke:
Avoid dangers in the air you breathe
From
MayoClinic.com,
You
don't smoke because you understand the dangers.
But what about that thick cloud hanging in the air at your favorite
restaurant? What about the haze left behind after your guests have
departed after a night of partying? And what about the cigarette
your spouse has left burning in an ashtray just a few feet away
from your infant?
Are they all a danger,
too?
Yes, they are. Compelling
evidence indicates that secondhand smoke is a health hazard. And
it's nearly as bad as smoking itself. Rich in toxic chemicals, secondhand
smoke may play a role in causing or contributing to a number of
health problems, from cardiovascular disease to cancer.
But secondhand smoke
is often avoidable. Take steps to safeguard yourself and your loved
ones from secondhand smoke.
Toxins in secondhand
smoke
What exactly is secondhand
smoke? It's two different forms of smoke from cigarettes, pipes
or cigars:
- Sidestream smoke.
This is smoke that wafts from the burning tobacco product.
- Mainstream smoke.
This is smoke that the smoker exhales.
Secondhand smoke
is also known as environmental tobacco smoke, passive smoking, involuntary
smoking and a newer, more descriptive term, tobacco smoke pollution.
Regardless of what
you call it, both types of secondhand smoke contain harmful chemicals
— and a lot of them. Specifically which chemicals are present
depend on the type of tobacco product, how it's smoked and the paper
in which the tobacco is wrapped. More than 4,000 chemicals make
up the haze of secondhand smoke. And more than 60 of the chemicals
in cigarette smoke are known to be carcinogenic, which means they
may cause cancer.
Some of the substances
found in secondhand smoke that are known or suspected to cause cancer
include:
- Formaldehyde
- Arsenic
- Cadmium
- Benzene
- Ethylene oxide
Here are a few other
chemicals in secondhand smoke that might sound familiar, along with
their effects on health:
- Ammonia — irritates your
lungs
- Carbon monoxide — hampers
breathing by reducing oxygen in your blood
- Methanol — toxic when
inhaled or swallowed
- Hydrogen cyanide — interferes
with proper respiratory function
The dangerous particles
given off in secondhand smoke can linger in the air for hours. Even
breathing them in for a short time — as little as 20 or 30
minutes — can harm your health in a variety ways. And breathing
in secondhand smoke over years can be all the more dangerous.
Adult health
threats from secondhand smoke
Health experts have
recognized the relationship between secondhand smoke and health
risks for decades. Research exploring these connections is ongoing.
Some of the
known or suspected health risks include:
- Cancer
In 1993, the Environmental Protection Agency placed environmental
tobacco smoke in the most dangerous category of cancer-causing
agents, and subsequent research has upheld that status.
- Secondhand smoke is a known
risk factor for lung cancer
Experts believe that secondhand smoke is to blame for roughly
3,000 deaths from lung cancer in adult nonsmokers each year
in the United States. Secondhand smoke is also linked to cancer
of the nasal sinuses. It's also been linked to cancers of the
cervix, breast and bladder, but the evidence hasn't been as
compelling as the link to lung cancer.
- Heart disease
Secondhand smoke harms
the cardiovascular system of nonsmokers in many ways. For one
thing, it causes coronary heart disease, such as a heart attack.
It also damages blood vessels, interferes with circulation and
increases the risk of blood clots. It's estimated that some
35,000 nonsmokers die of smoking-related heart disease in the
United States every year.
- Lung disease
Chronic lung ailments, such as bronchitis and asthma, have been
associated with secondhand smoke. Exposure to secondhand smoke
is also associated with chest tightness at night and feelings
of breathlessness after physical activity.
Children's
health threats from secondhand smoke
Secondhand smoke
has a marked effect on the health of infants and children. They're
more vulnerable than adults because they're still developing physically
and generally have higher breathing rates, which means they may
inhale greater quantities of secondhand smoke than do adults.
For children who
live in households where someone smokes, the effects are worst during
the child's first five years, since the child may spend the bulk
of that time with a smoking parent or guardian. Ironically, infants
are at the highest risk of secondhand smoke from their own mothers.
A child who spends just one hour in a very smoky room is inhaling
as many dangerous chemicals as if he or she smoked 10 or more cigarettes.
Here's a
look at some of the main health problems in infants and children
associated with secondhand smoke.
- Growth and development
Women who are exposed to secondhand smoke during pregnancy are
at higher risk of having babies of slightly lower birth weight.
This can cause a host of health problems for the baby, such
as cerebral palsy or learning disabilities. Women who actively
smoke during pregnancy expose their developing baby to passive
smoke — the chemicals may pass through the placenta —
and put them at risk of lower birth weight. Scientists are studying
the link between secondhand smoke and growth delays and congenital
malformations.
A developing fetus exposed
to secondhand smoke may also be at an increased risk of sudden
infant death syndrome (SIDS). But evidence that post-birth exposure
to secondhand smoke increases the risk of SIDS is inconclusive.
- Asthma and other respiratory
problems
Secondhand smoke may cause asthma in children. In children who
already have asthma, secondhand smoke can make episodes more
frequent and more severe.
Secondhand smoke is also tied
to lower respiratory infections, such as bronchitis and pneumonia,
especially in those younger than 6. It's also associated with
irritation of the upper respiratory tract and a small reduction
in lung function.
- Middle ear conditions
Children living in households with smokers are more likely to
have a buildup of fluid in their middle ear, which is an indication
of chronic middle ear disease (otitis media).
- Ear
infection, middle ear
- Recognizing
childhood asthma: An interview with a Mayo Clinic specialist
- Preconception
planning: Take care now for a healthy baby later
- Sudden
infant death syndrome (SIDS)
Other health
problems related to secondhand smoke
For both adults and
children, secondhand smoke is linked to a variety of other health
problems, including:
- Chronic coughing, phlegm and
wheezing
- Eye and nose irritation
- Reduced lung function
- Irritability and annoyance
- Dental cavities
How to avoid
secondhand smoke
Limiting exposure
to secondhand smoke may seem easy, but sometimes it isn't. Secondhand
smoke is both an individual health issue and a public health issue,
with social and governmental influences.
The
public health level
Some issues involving exposure to secondhand smoke are matters of
public health policy. For instance, smoking is now banned on all
U.S. domestic airline flights and all interstate bus travel, and
is restricted on trains traveling within the United States. In addition,
some, but not all, communities have tackled the issue by banning
smoking in certain places, such as restaurants and airports. Likewise
some, but not all, employers have enacted smoking bans or restrictions.
Be pro-active:
- If you can't go to your favorite
restaurant because it allows smoking, you can work to change
laws in your community.
- If your employer hasn't banned
smoking, you can push for restrictions, such as limiting smoking
to certain areas, or encourage smoking-cessation programs. Although
finding a new job often isn't an option, it may be something
to consider, especially if your health has already been affected.
As an added benefit,
in addition to reducing exposure to secondhand smoke, these community-level
and workplace smoke-free policies have proved to be among the most
effective ways to reduce overall smoking rates among adults.
The
individual level
If you're not comfortable taking on activist-type duties, you can
still take steps to limit your exposure to secondhand smoke on an
individual basis.
Don't allow
smoking inside your home. If family members or guests
want to smoke, ask them to step outside. Don't rely on an air
conditioner or an open window to clear the air. Running the air
conditioner may remove the visible smoke, but it doesn't remove
the dangerous particles from circulation. An open window doesn't
provide adequate ventilation, either.
If visitors
refuse to go outside to smoke, designate a special room
for smoking and close it off from the rest of the house and don't
let children in that room. But note that even designating a special
smoking room doesn't eliminate secondhand smoke — it can
still seep into the rest of the house and put others at risk.
Choose
smoke-free care facilities. If you take your children
to a child care provider, choose one with a no-smoking policy.
The same goes for your aging parents. If they live in a long term
care facility, make sure it's smoke-free.
Don't
allow smoking in your vehicle. If someone must smoke
on the road, stop at a rest stop for a smoke break outside the
car.
Patronize
businesses with no-smoking policies. Many restaurants
and other establishments are entirely smoke-free. Support them
with your business.
When you
absolutely must share a room with people who are smoking,
sit as far away from them as possible.
If your
partner smokes, have him or her refrain from smoking
indoors, just as you would with houseguests. Encourage your partner
to quit smoking completely.
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