Passive Smoking Effects

Passive smoking: Passive smoking is second hand smoking. It is a mix of smoke from a lit cigarette, cigar and pipelines into the air by the person smoking.  It means breathing in other people's tobacco smoke. This mainly happens to nonsmokers who are present in the company of smokers.  They   are not actively smoking but breathing the smoke surrounding air.

Passive Smoking and Cancer Facts

Tobacco smoke contains around 7,000 harmful chemicals among them over 50 chemicals of which are known to cause cancer. Nonsmokers who are staying with smokers at home or work increase their risk of lung cancer by 30%. Every year 3400 nonsmokers die from lung cancer. Toxic chemicals in passive smoke damage cells, which can put them at risk for becoming cancerous now, or in the future. Passive smoke depresses the function of some antioxidants that help repair cell damage.

Passive Smoking and Heart Facts 

Passive smoking contributes to coronary heart disease. Approximately 46,000 American nonsmokers who are suffering heart disease deaths from passive smoking effect. Nonsmokers who breathe in passive smoke regularly increase their risk of heart disease by 25%.

Effects of Passive Smoking

People who are smoking regularly are at risk and the danger zone about health matters. Anytime they may be affected by serious health problems.  People who do not smoke regularly can suffer serious and life threatening health concerns.  People who stay with a smoker are also in danger zone even as little 10 minutes can cause physical reactions linked to heart disease and stroke. Pregnant women exposed to passive smoke can have a greater risk of miscarriages and babies with low birth weight. Passive smoking effects are given below:

Cancer: Passive smoking increase the risk level of cancer.

Lung cancer: The effect of passive smoking on lung cancer has been increasing rapidly.

Breast cancer: Passive smoking increases the risk of breast cancer in younger women.

Brain tumor: The risk in children increases significantly with higher amount of passive smoking.

Circulatory system:  Heart disease reduced heart rate variability, higher heart rate that both active and passive cigarette smoking increases the risk of atherosclerosis.

Lung problems: Passive smoking creates lung problems in the human body. 

 

Effect During pregnancy

Women who exposed while pregnant have higher risks of delivering a child with congenital abnormalities, low birth weight, longer lengths, and smaller head circumferences.

Skin Disorder: Tobacco Smoke is associated with an increased risk of the development of adult onset Atopic dermatitis.

Asthma: Passive smoking may also be responsible for thousands of new cases of childhood asthma every year. Between 200,000 and 1,000,000 kids with asthma, have their condition worsened by secondhand smoke every year.

Coughs and colds: Passive smoke can create a coughs and colds

Middle Ear Infections: Exposure to passive smoke causes buildup of fluid in the middle ear, as a result in 700,000 to 1.6 million-physician office visits yearly.

Risks of ETS in Children:  Children have faster breathing rate. For this reason they breathe in more air relative to their body weight, which means they absorb more smoke. Children are at risk from the harm done by ET. Tobacco smoke in the home is an important source of exposure because children spend most of their time at home and indoors. 

Nurses and the risks of passive smoking

There is a unique risk to community based health workers who are caring for smokers in their homes or in community contexts.

Passive smoke is serious business. It should be a concern for anyone who breathes it in. Nonsmokers are inhaling passive smoke share some of the health risks smokers’ face.  Smokers do face the worst of it the risks of smoking are compounded by breathing cigarette smoke in for a second time.