Meaning of Secondhand Smoking

Side stream smoke is that when a person inhales smoke that comes out from the burning of tobacco. On the other hand, the mainstream smoke is that when a person inhales smoke while a person is smoking.

Both these types of smoking are called Secondhand smoke or ETS or Passive smoker. It is a proven health hazard to nonsmokers, and it’s not easy to avoid, because about one in four people smoke.

Did you know that secondhand smoke - the smoke breathed out by smokers and the smoke from the burning end of a cigarette, cigar, or pipe - has twice as much nicotine, and five times the carbon monoxide, as the smoke you inhale?

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency lists secondhand smoke as a Group A carcinogen, a rating used only for substances proven to cause cancer in humans. In fact, the risk of lung cancer (Smoking and Lung Cancer) is about 30 percent higher for non-smoking wives of smokers than it is for nonsmoking wives of nonsmokers.

The health effects of second-hand smoke are controversial. Estimates range from about 5,000 to about 60,000 deaths a year - many fewer than the 400,000 attributed to regular smoking, but still far too many. Exposure to secondhand smoke can cause nonsmokers to cough, sneeze, and suffer eye irritations.

Poisonous Substances Inhaled During Secondhand Smoking

There are number of poisonous substances we inhale while a person smokes. Nearly 4000 poisonous substances can be found in secondhand smoke. They make entry into our body and 40 among them can be carcinogens.

It does not matter that whether you are smoking or just inhaling the smoke exhaled by a smoker the consequences are dangerous. This will lead to several respiratory diseases.

Carcinogens

Secondhand smoke belongs to the class of carcinogens. Secondhand smoke contains a high amount of carcinogen. As the secondhand smoke is unfiltered, it contains high amount of carcinogen. Therefore the active smoker is inhaling lower quantity of carcinogen than the Passive smoker.

Smoke Producing Parts in a Cigarette

Smoke is produced from to main places in a cigarette. Firstly, the tip of the cigarette is the one from where smoke released. Secondly, the hot smoke releases through the cigarette and its filter from the remaining part of the cigarette.

Secondhand smoke’s major portion incorporates cigarette’s burning tip. It is around 70 to 80 percent of Secondhand smoke. The major components are nicotine, carbon monoxide, carcinogens and tar. Thus, Secondhand smoke is more harmful and deadly than the active smoker.

Hazards of Secondhand Smoke

Secondhand smoke has got several hazards. Secondhand smoke causes nausea, headache, eye irritation, cough, sore throat and dizziness. Apart from these effects, it also leads to certain long-term disorders.

Lung cancer is the major disease caused due to secondhand smoke. If a non-smoker is suffering from a deadly disease like lung cancer, the only cause for the disease is Secondhand smoke.

A recent survey found that hospitality workers have more chances of lung cancer due to secondhand smoke than anyone else. Those workers who are more exposed to secondhand smoke have more chances of acquiring this deadly disease.

Secondhand smoke can also cause diseases like Cardio vascular problems. Certain chemicals block arteries and that leads to heart attack or hypertension. Secondhand smoke can also cause Asthma and Breast cancer.

Your children are also getting affected and have more chances of acquiring deadly diseases due to Secondhand smoke. If a pregnant woman smokes then she is directly harming her baby. The baby will be of low-weight; size of lungs will be smaller and have more chances of tobacco addiction.

Secondhand Smoke and Children

Secondhand smoke poses special dangers to children. Well-documented research has shown that:

• Babies of smokers are more prone to pneumonia and bronchitis in the first year of life than are babies of nonsmokers.
• Children who breathe secondhand smoke have more ear infections, pneumonia, bronchitis, and lung diseases, and are more likely to develop asthma.
• Smoke in the home can worsen symptoms in asthmatic children and even trigger asthmatic attacks in young and adult nonsmokers.
• Studies have also shown that children of smokers are more likely to start smoking themselves than are children of non-smokers.

Why Do So Many People Ignore These Risks?

Why do people discount so many of the well-known risks of smoking or secondhand smoke? For one thing, almost every smoker has an Uncle Pete or Aunt Jane who “smoked like a chimney” and still lived to a ripe old age.

Focusing on the exceptions makes it easier to forget that about half of all regular cigarette smokers will ultimately be killed as a result of this habit. And even though Pete and Jane looked healthy, they had unseen damage to the delicate tissues in the throat, lungs, and other organs.

Think back: they did cough a lot didn’t they? Additionally, they may have had a lot of other problems that no one ever thought were related to smoking - such as heart disease (Smoking and Heart Diseases), diabetic complications, stroke, and even impotence.

So, if you have the gene pool that’s going to let you live to a ripe old age like Uncle Peter or Aunt Jane, why not live to a hearty ripe old age - far more feasible if you’ve quit smoking.