The Effects of Second Hand Smoke

The Effects of Second Hand Smoke

What is second-hand smoke? Second-hand smoke or environmental smoke as it is sometimes called, is a combination of the smoke coming off a burning cigarette, pipe or cigar and the smoke exhaled by a smoker. Second-hand smoke is a very awful disease that takes the lives of many people, including those of innocent children. It causes lung cancer, heart disease and many more diseases of the human body.

Second-hand smoke contains almost 4,000 different chemicals. One of those chemicals is Benzo, which is the world’s most potent cancer-causing chemical. Another chemical in second-hand smoke is formaldehyde, which is often used to preserve laboratory animals. This can cause cancer and damage your lungs, skin and digestive system. The more people are exposed to second-hand smoke the greater risk they are of having a heart attack or stroke, or possible getting lung cancer. More than 3,000 deaths occur from exposure to second-hand smoke. That adds up to more than 500 deaths every year. When you breathe in second-hand smoke, your lungs must work harder to function. The result nay be coughing or discomfort. It can trigger asthma or can bring upon the occurrence of asthma.

As mentioned above second-hand smoke can cause heart disease. Heart disease

morbidity and mortality is far more serious than lung cancer as a contributor to the bulk of the public health burden caused by second-hand smoke. It is estimated that sixty nine percent of the second-hand smoke-related deaths in the U.S. are due to heart disease, compared with thirty one percent due to lung cancer.

Second-hand smoke is a serious health risk to children. Children are exposed to second-hand smoke in one out of every five homes a day. Studies shave found that exposure to second-hand smoke causes SIDS(Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.) It also increases the risk for extreme middle ear infections in smaller children. These children are at higher risk of getting sick because their lungs are still developing and are more easily damaged by second-hand smoke. It is estimated that between 150,000 and 300,000 have a lower respiratory tract infection in infants and children under eighteen months of age, resulting in between 7,500 and15,000 hospilizations each year. Children also inhale more air pollutants for their size than adults because they breathe faster than adults. Exposure to even small amounts of second-hand smoke can aggravate their asthma and can even trigger it to begin if children do not have it in the first place. They have higher rate of getting pneumonia, bronchitis, colds, ear infections, and sore throats. Exposure to second-hand smoke represents a serious pediatric problem which has been estimated to double the risk of infection and death in children. Many children will acquire medical attention and hospilization as a result of exposure to second-hand smoke.

Second hand smoke also occurs in the workplace and public places. Restaurants and bars , which are both worksites and public places, have not been regulated in order to protect non-smoking employees and non-smoking customers from second-hand smoke

exposure. Recent studies have indicated that exposure to second-hand smoke are higher in

restaurants and bars than in office workplaces or other businesses. Workers in restaurants and bars must be given the same public health protection as federal provincial employees, due to the increased risk of lung cancer and heart diseases. There should be banning in all public workplaces and public restaurants due to all the health problems associated with