Otherwise known also as second hand smoking. Secondhand smoke comes from both the smoke that smokers exhale (called mainstream smoke) and the smoke floating from the end of the cigarette, cigar, or pipe (called sidestream smoke).
Just think about the people around you that you care. You may not be able to stop but maybe
you are not willing to cause them pain in any way because of a 2-peso cigarette or even an expensive one.
Hundreds of studies have indicated that the harm caused by secondhand smoke is far greater than earlier believed. One report includes these findings:
October 15, 2008 @ cancer.org- an estimated 35,000 deaths from heart disease in non-smokers who live with smokers
- about 3,000 lung cancer deaths in non-smoking adults
- other breathing problems in non-smokers, including coughing, mucus, chest discomfort, and reduced lung function
- 150,000 to 300,000 lung infections (such as pneumonia and bronchitis) in children younger than 18 months of age, which result in 7,500 to 15,000 hospitalizations annually
- increases in the number and severity of asthma attacks in about 200,000 to 1 million children who have asthma
- more than 750,000 middle ear infections in children
2006 entry by bala- There is no safe level of secondhand smoke, and even brief exposure can cause harm, especially for people suffering from heart or respiratory diseases.
- For nonsmoking adults, exposure raises the risk of heart disease by 25% to 30% and of cancer by 20% to 30%. It accounted for 46,000 premature deaths from heart disease and 3,000 premature deaths from cancer in the year 2006.
- Secondhand smoke is a cause of sudden infant death syndrome, or SIDS, accounting for 430 deaths in the year 2005. The risk is elevated for children whose mothers were exposed during pregnancy and for children exposed in their homes after birth.
- The impact on the health and development of children is more severe than previously thought. "Children are especially vulnerable to the poisons in secondhand smoke,".
- Efforts to minimize the effect of secondhand smoke by separating smokers and nonsmokers are ineffective, as are ventilation systems in a shared space.
- While exposure has declined, as many as 60% of nonsmokers show biological evidence of encountering secondhand smoke, and 22% of children are exposed to secondhand smoke in their homes.
