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SECONDHAND SMOKE

SECONDHAND SMOKE

because they make the eyes burn when somebody tries to sit around a smoker.

Does secondhand smoke contain harmful chemicals?

What is secondhand smoke?


Secondhand smoke can also be known as

Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS).


Secondhand smoke is the combination of smoke given off by the burning end of a tobacco product and the smoke exhaled by the smoker. Exposure to secondhand smoke is also called

involuntary smoking or passive smoking.


Those who are exposed to secondhand smoke for 15 minutes in two days within a week are defined as secondhand smokers.

More than

4000

different chemical

compounds have been identified by scientists in ETS, including nicotine, carbon monoxide, ammonia, formaldehyde, arsenic, dioxins and furans. At least

43

of these chemicals cause

of the smoke from a burning

cigarette is not inhaled by the smoker but enters into the surrounding environment. The contaminated air is inhaled by anyone in that area. Secondhand smoke contaminates the air and is also retained in clothing, curtains and furniture. ETS is unpleasant, annoying, and irritating to the eyes and nose

cancer. Others are known or suspected mutagens, capable of changing the genetic structure of cells. Many of the components of ETS are also found in industrial effluents where they are treated as hazardous waste. It contains the same number of toxic chemicals as the smoke inhaled by the smoker.

SECONDHAND SMOKE

What are the adverse effects to health of exposure to secondhand smoke?


According to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the exposure to second hand smoke can increase the risk of lung cancer in non-smokers by

Effects of Secondhand Smoke on Children

20-

30%.

Secondhand smoke is human

carcinogen!
Some research have also revealed that secondhand smoke may increase the risk of breast cancer, nasal sinus cavity cancer, and nasopharyngeal cancer in adults, and leukemia, lymphoma, and brain tumors in children. Exposure to secondhand smoke also irritates the airways and has immediate harmful effects on a persons heart and blood vessels. It may increase the risk of

1. The foetus and newborn:


Maternal, foetal, and placental blood flow change when pregnant women smoke, although the long-term health effects of these changes are not known. Some studies suggest that smoking during pregnancy causes birth defects such as cleft lip or palate. Smoking mothers produce less milk, and their babies have a lower birth weight. Maternal smoking also is associated with neonatal death from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), the major cause of death in infants between one month and one year of age.

heart diseases in non-smokers by an


estimated 25-30%.

2. Children's lungs and respiratory tracts:


Exposure to ETS decreases lung efficiency and impairs lung function in children of all

SECONDHAND SMOKE ages. It increases both the frequency and severity of childhood asthma. Second hand smoke can aggravate sinusitis, rhinitis, cystic fibrosis, and chronic respiratory problems such as cough and postnasal drip. It also increases the number of children's colds and sore throats. In children under two years of age, ETS exposure increases the likelihood of bronchitis and pneumonia. pressure equalization in the middle ear, leading to pain, fluid and infection. Ear infections are the most common cause of children's hearing loss.

4. The Brain:
Children of mothers who smoked during pregnancy are more likely to suffer behavioural problems such as hyperactivity than children of nonsmoking mothers. Modest impairment in school performance and intellectual achievement has also been demonstrated. Children who have parents that smoke are almost twice as likely to start smoking as children with non-smoking parents.

3. The Ears:
Exposure to ETS increases both the number of ear infections a child will experience, and the duration of the illness. Inhaled smoke irritates the eustachian tube, which connects the back of the nose with the middle ear. This causes swelling and obstruction which interferes with

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