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Environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) is commonly called secondhand smoke. Smoke from the burning end of cigarettes, pipes or cigars and smoke exhaled from smokers contains more than 4,000 substances, with at least 43 known to cause cancer in humans and animals.
Exposure to secondhand smoke, also called involuntary smoking or passive smoking, is concentrated indoors where ETS is often the most significant pollutant. Indoor levels of the particles you may inhale (the "tars" in the cigarettes) from ETS often exceed the national air quality standard established by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for outdoor air.
How common is it?
More than 40 percent of American children (2 months to 11 years) live in a home with at least one smoker, and 37 percent of adult nonsmokers live in a home with a smoker or have reported exposure to secondhand smoke at work. These figures come from a survey conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics.
What are the health effects?
Secondhand smoke causes about 3,000 lung cancer deaths in nonsmokers in the United States, according to the EPA. It is classified as a Group A carcinogen by the EPA, a rating used for substances proven to cause cancer in humans. (Group A carcinogens also include radon and asbestos.)
Passive smoking has other significant effects on the respiratory health of nonsmokers, including coughing, phlegm production, chest discomfort and reduced lung power.
Infants and young children whose parents smoke are among the most seriously affected by exposure to secondhand smoke. They have an increased chance of having respiratory problems, pneumonia and ear infections. Moreover, children with asthma are at a very high risk. The EPA estimates secondhand smoking is responsible each year for between 150,000 and 300,000 lower respiratory tract infections in infants and children younger than 18 months old, resulting anywhere between 7,500 and 15,000 hospitalizations a year.
Minimizing exposure to secondhand smoke
- Don't smoke in your home or allow others to do so. Do not allow baby-sitters or others who work in your home to smoke indoors. Discourage others from smoking around children. Find out about the smoking policies of the day care center providers, schools, and other care givers for your children. The policy should protect children from exposure to ETS.
- If you have to smoke, go outside. Smoking in a different room than where the children are does NOT protect them.
- If a family member smokes indoors, increase ventilation in the area by opening windows or using exhaust fans.
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External Sources
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Environmental Protection Agency
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National Center for Health Statistics
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This article was reviewed and updated June 2007.
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