The harmful effects of smoking cigars, cigarettes or pipes extend beyond the tobacco user to nonsmokers who inhale secondhand smoke. Consequences to nonsmokers range from putting up with an unpleasant odor to suffering respiratory irritation and even death. Laws regarding indoor air quality effectively ban tobacco use from many workplaces and public areas. Home exposure to secondhand smoking, however, is enough to create major health problems for adults, children and unborn babies.
Aggravation of Existing Conditions
Secondhand smoking is most dangerous to individuals who already have lung or heart health problems. The U.S. Surgeon General reports that secondhand, or passive, smoke exacerbates symptoms in individuals with bronchitis, allergies, asthma and heart disease. Children with these conditions may experience even greater respiratory and cardiovascular stress.
Child-Specific Health Problems
Additional threats to children from secondhand tobacco smoke include increased likelihood of respiratory infections, ear infections and respiratory symptoms. According to the surgeon general, secondhand smoke can make school-age children cough and wheeze in an attempt to dislodge phlegm that obstructs their breathing. Fetuses who are exposed to secondhand cigarette smoke may have poor lung development and low birth weight. These health problems may cause complications that can lead to perinatal or sudden infant death.
Reproductive Disorders
Tobacco use or contact with secondhand cigarette smoke during pregnancy can create problems. According to the Centers for Disease Control, smoking by the mother affects every stage of reproduction and transmits passive smoke to the fetus. The Department of Health and Human Services states that a mother's contact with secondhand smoke increases her risk of miscarriage, premature delivery and stillbirth.
Heart Disease
The CDC counts an annual 46,000 deaths from heart disease related to secondhand smoke. Healthy nonsmokers can be harmed by isolated incidents of exposure, because smoke directly affects the blood vessels. The American Heart Association notes that secondhand smoke raises blood cholesterol levels and encourages blood clotting as platelets become stickier. These dangerous conditions can lead to heart attack, heart failure and premature death.
Cancer
In addition to cardiovascular emergencies, secondhand smoke can cause death by lung cancer. The CDC tally for annual lung cancer deaths attributed to passive cigarette smoke exposure is 3,400. Even when lung cancer is not fatal, the disease still causes pain, mental anguish and other symptoms that degrade the quality of life.
As with heart disease, there is no level of exposure to secondhand smoke that is considered safe: Even brief exposure can cause the physical damage that ultimately leads to lung cancer. The surgeon general also suspects a causal link between nasal, breast and cervical cancers and exposure to secondhand smoke.
References
- U.S. Surgeon General: Secondhand Smoke, What It Means to You
- U.S. Surgeon General: Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke
- Centers for Disease Control: Smoking and Reproductive Health
- Maine Department of Health and Human Services: Fetal Exposure to Secondhand Smoke
- American Heart Association: The Truth About Secondhand Smoke
