Secondhand smoke is more deadly than you think

March 21, 2012  
Filed under Editorial, Opinion

People should be more considerate when smoking cigarettes in public.  Not only is the smell atrocious and irritating to be around, but it can also lead to serious health problems.  You may not think the smoke can affect you, but in reality, it most certainly can.

Second hand smoke can be worse to inhale then actually smoking a cigarette.  Non-smokers who breathe in secondhand smoke take in nicotine and other toxic chemicals just like smokers do. The more secondhand smoke you are exposed to, the higher the level of these harmful chemicals in your body.   Secondhand smoking causes approximately two percent of lung cancer deaths each year. It causes respiratory disease, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, middle ear disease, and asthma attacks in children.  This is why smoking should be limited to specific areas in public.

As a child, you may be exposed to the harmful toxins of cigarette smoke.  Whether a parent smokes in your presence or you breathe this smoke in while in public, it is very unsafe.   Asthmatic children are especially at risk. Contact with secondhand smoke increases the number of episodes and severity of symptoms in hundreds of thousands of asthmatic children. The EPA estimates Between 200,000 and 1,000,000 asthmatic children have their condition worsened by secondhand smoke. Secondhand smoke can also make children develop asthma.  Asthma is not a condition to be messed with and cigarette smoke should be kept away as best it can.

Yet another extremely fatal disease from secondhand smoke would be lung cancer.  Tobacco smoke contains over 4,000 chemical compounds. More than 60 of these are known or suspected to cause cancer says the International Agency for Research on Cancer.  You do not need to smoke cigarettes to obtain lung cancer; simply breathing in the smoke can cause it as well.  The International Agency for Research on Cancer also states that about 3,400 lung cancer deaths as a result of breathing secondhand smoke.    Other breathing problems in non-smokers, including coughing, mucus, chest discomfort, and reduced lung function.  Is this really worth it all from a lousy cigarette?  I do not believe so!

Think about the pregnant women out there.  These women expecting who are exposed to secondhand smoke are also at increased risk of having low birth-weight babies.  No one wants to bring an unhealthy baby into the world, especially from someone’s stupidity of smoking around others. The EPA estimates that secondhand smoking is responsible for between 150,000 and 300,000 lower respiratory infections in infants and children under 18 months of age yearly, which result in between 7,500 and 15,000 hospitalizations each year.  As you can see, babies, children, and adults are all harmed from secondhand smoke.

It is safe to say secondhand smoke is bothersome and very dangerous.  People who did not realize how critical smoking around others can actually be for everyone, including themselves, should definitely think twice about picking up another cigarette.  Adults should especially be more considerate when smoking around young children. Think of it as the children with a cigarette in their tiny hand because that is basically what secondhand smoke is.  No one wants to suffer from deadly cancers and other problems, so think about it. Is a cigarette really that important?

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