Health Risks Caused By Secondhand Cigarette Smoke
Cigarette smoke is also known as environmental tobacco smoke or passive smoke. It is a mixture of two forms of smoke that come from burning tobacco. This includes: side stream smoke—smoke that comes from the end of a lighted cigarette, pipe, or cigar—and mainstream smoke—smoke that is exhaled by a smoker. This mixture contains more than 7,000 chemicals, including hundreds that are toxic and about 70 that are cancer-causing. The side stream smoke contains higher concentrations of carcinogens than the mainstream smoke, and it contains smaller particles relative to mainstream smoke, which absorb into the body’s cells more easily. Prolonged exposure to second-hand smoke causes lung cancer in nonsmokers and has also been associated with heart disease in adults. Sudden infant death syndrome, ear infections, respiratory infections, and asthma attacks can occur in children that are exposed to secondhand smoke. Scientific evidence shows that there is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke.
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