Secondhand smoke is made up of

two parts: mainstream smoke is the

smoke exhaled by someone who is

smoking a cigarette or cigar, and

sidestream smoke is the smoke that

actually comes off the end of the

cigarette or cigar. Secondhand

smoke is also referred to as passive

smoke. Aside from smelling bad,

this smoke is very bad for humans

to inhale. In fact, for every eight

smokers who die because of their

smoking habit, one healthy person

who has never smoked dies be-

cause of their exposure to second-

hand smoke (University of Minne-

sota– UMN). Clearly, this issue is

a large problem. This issue seems

especially bad when given this

fact: 70 –90 % of all non-smokers

are regularly exposed to second-

hand smoke (UMN). After active

smoking and alcohol, secondhand

smoke is the third leading cause of

disability and premature death

(UMN). Thus, if public smoking

was eliminated, one of the three

leading causes of early death

would be gone. Why should

healthy citizens who want to spend

time in public places be forced to

breathe in smoke from people who

are not conscious of their health?

Why are babies, children, and

adults dying every year from an

easily preventable cause? Second-

hand smoke is a problem that must

be solved.

The Dangers of secondhand smoke

Effect of Secondhand Smoke on Children

Secondhand smoke has an incredi-

bly devastating effect on the health

of children. Because children, and

especially babies, are still develop-

ing, the harmful chemicals in sec-

ondhand smoke hurt them even

more. In addition to being able to

get every disease adults can get

from inhaling secondhand smoke,

children also have a greater chance

of getting acute respiratory infec-

tions, ear problems, more severe

asthma, and slower lung growth

(American Cancer Association).

Babies exposed to secondhand

smoke are at greater risk for Sud-

den Infant Death Syndrome

(SIDS). Clearly, inhaling second-

hand smoke is very bad for chil-

dren. Why, then, do over one third

of children live with a smoker

(Pediatrics for Parents)? Unless

something changes, more children

will die every year.

Billy Van Cleve

11-24-09 Volume 1, Issue 1

Secondhand Smoke

Special points of

interest:

• Almost 50,000 peo-

ple a year die from

secondhand smoke

• More than 60

chemicals in sec-

ondhand smoke are

proven to cause

cancer.

• Surgeon General:

“Secondhand

smoke is not a

mere annoyance

but a serious health

hazard.”

Inside this issue:

Effect on Children 1

Contents of smoke 2

What you can do 2

Health Effects 3

What should be done 3

Works Cited 4

Resources 4

The contents of secondhand

smoke are extremely danger-

ous for humans. Secondhand

smoke contains over 4,000

chemicals in it. Of those 4,000,

more than 2,000 are poisonous

to humans (CRS - Adult Health

Advisor). 60 of these poisons

have been proven to cause

cancer in humans and animals.

This classifies secondhand

smoke as a group A carcino-

gen. This groups also contains

asbestos and radon (CRS–

Adult Health Advisor). So,

every time you breathe in sec-

ondhand smoke, you are inhal-

ing something as dangerous as

asbestos or radon. In addition,

secondhand smoke contains

double the amount of tar and

nicotine, triple the amount of

benzpyrene, five times the

amount of carbon monoxide,

and fifty times the amount of

ammonia that smoke inhaled

directly from a cigarette has

(University of Minnesota). In

summary, secondhand smoke

is very dangerous for humans.

Many people are aware of the

toxins people can inhale while

smoking, but not many people

know about secondhand

smoke. Next time you are

walking down the street and

you pass a smoker, think

about what is going into your

lungs.

them to quit. Another good way

to protect yourself is to eat at

restaurants or bars that do not

allow smoking. A restaurant that

does not allow smoking is much

better than a restaurant where

you can sit in the non-smoking

section. Let restaurants that al-

There are many ways to protect

yourself from the deadly effects

of secondhand smoke. First, try

not to live with a smoker. Pick-

ing an apartment that does not

allow smoking is a good idea. If

you live with a smoker, do your

best to persuade them and help

low smoking know that you are

not eating there for that reason.

Also, try to work in a smoke-free

environment. Since you spend a

lot of time at work, that is a criti-

cal area to try to cut down on

your secondhand smoke intake.

What is in secondhand smoke?

What you can do to protect yourself

Page 2

Secondhand Smoke

“ Secondhand smoke

contains over 4,000

chemicals in it.”

Secondhand Smoke Kills

Secondhand smoke unfortu-

nately kills many people every

year who have never touched a

cigarette in their life. Every

year, nearly 50,000 people are

killed from breathing in sec-

ondhand smoke. Of these,

46,000 are killed by heart dis-

ease related to secondhand

smoke (American Cancer As-

sociation). Another 3,400 are

killed from lung cancer

(American Cancer Associa-

tion). In addition to deaths,

secondhand smoke causes

numerous problems. These

include coughing, mucus,

chest discomfort, reduced lung

function, cervical cancer, in-

creased menstrual pain, nau-

sea, and hoarseness (CRS–

Adult Health Advisor). Inhal-

ing secondhand smoke may

also cause breast cancer, but

that is not completely proven

yet. It is important to remem-

ber that all the previous deaths

and diseases mentioned in this

article are only caused by sec-

ondhand smoke: none of these

people have every touched a

cigarette. Unfortunately, these

people were exposed to

enough smoke from other peo-

ple that they paid the price for

other people’s bad decisions.

Even with good ventilation sys-

tems, people sitting in a non-

smoking section still inhale a

significant amount of second-

hand smoke. Therefore, the only

way to protect healthy, responsi-

ble people is to ban smoking in

all public places. If people want

Even if individuals do every-

thing in their power to protect

themselves from secondhand

smoke and still maintain a nor-

mal life, they will still inhale

secondhand smoke. Smoking

must be banned from all restau-

rants, bars, and public places.

to smoke in their homes, they

have every right to do so. But

smokers must not endanger the

lives of innocent, healthy citi-

zens who are entitled to walk

around in public without breath-

ing in dangerous poisons.

Effects of secondhand smoke

What the government must do

Page 3

Volume 1, Issue 1

“Every year, nearly

50,000 people are

killed from breathing

in secondhand

smoke.”

Secondhand Smoke Kills

Billy Van Cleve

Local:

Missouri Department of Health and Senior services

National:

Environmental Protection Agency

School:

Tobacco Information for Teens

Website:

Americans for Non-smokers’ rights: http://www.no-smoke.org/getthefacts.php?id=13.

Resources

Works Cited

"ACS :: Secondhand Smoke." American Cancer Society :: Information and Resources for Cancer: Breast, Colon, Prostate,

Lung and Other Forms. Web. 15 Nov. 2009. <http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ped/content/

ped_10_2x_secondhand_smoke-clean_indoor_air.asp>.

"Children's exposure to secondhand smoke." Pediatrics for Parents, March-April 2009 v25 i3-4 p5(1). Science Resource

Center. Gale. 15 November 2009 <http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/SciRC?ste=1&docNum=A200717485>.

"Division of Periodontology: Tobacco Use Cessation Program." University of Minnesota. Web. 15 Nov. 2009. <http://

www1.umn.edu/perio/tobacco/secondhandsmoke.html>.

Liz Szabo. "Secondhand Smoke Debate 'Over'." USA Today 28 Jun 2006: n.p. SIRS Researcher. Web. 16 November 2009.

"Secondhand Smoke." CRS - Adult Health Advisor (2009): 1. Health Source - Consumer Edition. EBSCO. Web. 16 Nov.

2009. (http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hxh&AN=36256419&site=ehost-live).