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Secondhand smoke is also called environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) and is comprised of two different types of smoke that comes from burning tobacco. It may seem a bit redundant that ETS has two different types of smoke that is harmful when it all seems like one – but there are different levels of toxins in each type.
The first is sidestream smoke that comes from the end of the lit tobacco – cigarette, cigar or pipe. And the second type of ETS is mainstream smoke that is exhaled by the smoker. And, when non-smokers are exposed to this environmental tobacco smoke it is called involuntary smoking or passive smoking. This was a large issue for individuals who frequented public areas, such as restaurants and office buildings, where people were allowed to smoke. Now, however, with increased recognition of the secondhand smoking problem, the government has made it illegal to smoke in public.
This law, combined with the increased publicity about the health issues that are at increased risk for those who smoke, have all led to a decline in the overall numbers of people who smoke. In fact, there has been a drastic drop in numbers from 42% of the population in 1965 to 21% in 2008 according to the American Cancer Society.
The problems with secondhand smoke is so severe that the Environmental Protection Agency, the International Agency for Research on Cancer and the U.S. National Toxicology Program have all classified it as a “known human carcinogen” or cancer causing agent. Researchers have found over 4000 different chemical compounds in burning tobacco and close to 200 which are known or suspected to cause cancer.
People who live with smokers are exposed to secondhand smoke each day, even when the smoker takes his habit outside. While smoking outside of the residence will reduce the overall exposure for the non-smoker it doesn’t eliminate it entirely.
The statistics for non-smokers trails the numbers for smokers by only a small margin. There are an estimated 46,000 deaths each year in non-smokers who live with smokers from heart disease; 3400 lung cancer deaths in non-smoking adults living with smokers; 150,000 – 300,000 lung infections in children younger than 18 months who live with smokers; and increase in number and severity of asthma attacks in children who have asthma and live with a smoker; and more than 750,000 middle ear infections in children who live with smokers.
In a report from the California Environmental Protection Agency in 2005, researchers reported that the evidence regarding secondhand smoke and the linked to breast cancer is consistent with a causal association and young women. This means that secondhand smoke could be a cause of breast cancer in women. The 2006 US Surgeon General’s report found that the link is suggestive but that there isn’t sufficient evidence at this point. Researchers do know that both mainstream and secondhand smoke have 20 chemicals that are known to cause breast cancer in rodents and that these chemicals reach the breast tissue because they are found in breast milk for humans.
The US Surgeon General’s report in 2006 concluded that secondhand smoke causes premature death and disease in children and in adults who do not smoke and that children who are exposed to secondhand smoke are at increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome, your problems, severe asthma and slow lung growth. At this time the scientific evidence shows that there is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke and the only way to fully protect non-smokers from exposure is to prevent all smoking in indoor spaces are building.
Ventilation systems often pull air from the outside or from different areas around the building in which smokers have been relegated. This means that secondhand smoke or environmental tobacco smoke reaches the lungs of non-smokers when non-smokers are not aware that they are breathing contaminated air. Secondhand smoke is that higher exposure in four different places, the workplace, public places, at home and in the car.
Secondhand smoke is very serious business a significant health risk for anyone who is exposed. Non-smokers share some of the same health risks that smokers face, even though smokers face the highest risks. However, while secondhand smoke may not kill as many people it is toxic and claimed thousands of lives every year around the world.
