Passive Smoking

Passive smoking is also known as secondhand smoking, involuntary smoking, and exposure to environmental tobacco smoke – or ETS. Eighty-five percent of ETS is made up of sidestream smoke – the smoke that is exhaled by a smoker or released from the burning tip of a cigarette or any tobacco product. This toxic smoke contains fine molecules and gases, more than 4,000 chemicals, many of them are dangerous, at least 60 of them are known and can cause cancer. Passive smoking is most frequent in public places, and can also be observed in some private residences. Bars and restaurants are the most common places where one can experience passive smoking. Many individuals are also exposed to immense passive smoke in their own apartments or at the homes of friends and family. Smoke lingers in the air for longer, particularly in enclosed rooms when a person keeps smoking for long. Children, particularly toddlers and infants, are at a higher risk from tobacco smoke because their bodies are still in a period of development. Exposure to these carcinogens can lead to severe respiratory disease that can mark them for life or disturb the standard growth of the lungs. Passive smokers are potentially at risk of serious illness such as heart related diseases, cancer, ear infections and respiratory problems. Passive smoking has also been found to be responsible for lower birth weights and a significant cause of infant deaths in third world countries where smoking rates are still very high.

Passive Smoking Is Bad For Your Health

Recent studies have indicated that around one million smokers are found suffering from asthma, which is primarily caused by passive smoking.Passive smokers are susceptible to a number of frightening effects. As one would expect, bronchial tubes of a child are relatively smaller and immune system is less developed making them more vulnerable to a host of illnesses and disorders. As their airways are smaller, kids take shorter and faster breaths than adults and as a result they actually breathe in more harmful particles while breathing. Exposures to smoke of tobacco can even double the risk of children contracting disorders and diseases like pneumonia and bronchitis calling for the need of hospitalization for these illnesses.It has been proven that second hand smoke which is generated by the exhalation of the smoker and by the smoke rising from the smoldering end of the cigarette has adverse effects on the human physiology. Some of the long term effects of passive smoking are listed below:-Second hand smoke has been proven as a carcinogenic substance.
-Research has shown a significant increase in the relative risk of lung cancer in people who are exposed to second hand smoke.
-Passive smoking increases the risk of breast cancer among younger, premenopausal women by seventy percent.
-Children are at a higher risk of developing brain tumor in their lifetime due to a sustained exposure to passive smoking. Even if the mother does not smoke, her exposure to second hand smoke during pregnancies increases the chances of her babies developing brain tumor at some point in their lifetime.The adverse effects of second hand smoke have been researched and complied for many years. The effects are life threatening, serious and debilitating. It is a proven fact that it is next to impossible to avert passive smoking completely, but it is definitely in your best interest to avoid it as much as possible. Pregnant women and children are at a higher risk and they should take every step possible to ensure that they are protected from the effects of second hand smoke.

Passive Smoking – Even 30 Minutes Is Too Much

A sizeable number of non-smokers complain of headache, eye irritation, nasal congestion, sneezing, sore throat, cough, and other respiratory tract infections upon exposure to sidestream smoke or ETS. In almost all cases, eye irritation was observed to be the main symptom upon exposure to cigarette smoke.People with allergies may experience the following: watery or irritated eyes, itchy or runny nose, sneezing, wheezing, coughing, a suffocating feeling, and other typical allergy symptoms just minutes of getting exposed. Some with no record of allergies or asthma may suddenly cough in smoke-filled quarters. Others get headaches, feel nauseas, sleepy, and experience other ill effects, when in the absence of smoke they would not exhibit these symptoms. It can also induce cravings for those who are in the process of quitting smoking. In persons with asthma, an attack can be induced or the current condition exacerbated by being exposed to ETS, or faster with sidestream smoke. Just a thirty minute exposure to tobacco smoke can reduce coronary blood flow.The short-term effects may cease when exposure ends. But repeated short-term and prolonged exposure to passive smoking may cause serious long-term effects.