Secondhand Smoke Fact Sheet

 

What is it?

Secondhand smoke, passive smoke, and environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) are all terms describing tobacco smoke inhaled by non- smokers.

Is it dangerous to non-smokers?

Yes! It contains 4,000 chemicals and gases, 43 of which are known to cause cancer in humans including: formaldehyde (embalming fluid), cyanide, arsenic, methane, benzene, carbon monoxide, and cadmium (batteries)

Secondhand smoke comes from 2 sources–

Mainstream smoke–what smokers ingest when they puff or inhale. Non-smokers are exposed to this when the smoker exhales.

Sidestream smoke–is released directly into the air from the burning end of the cigarette, pipe or cigar.

Which source is more dangerous?

Both are very dangerous and non-smokers are exposed to both sources, however sidestream smoke contains higher concentrations

of cancer-causing chemicals and Carbon Monoxide.

• Secondhand smoke is the 3rd leading cause of preventable death in the U.S. killing 100,000 nonsmokers each year.

• Rooms filled with smoke can have up to 6 times the air pollution as a busy highway

• Persons exposed to secondhand smoke have a 20-30_ greater risk of

lung cancer than nonsmokers who have never been exposed to secondhand smoke.

•Secondhand smoke is by far the most serious threat to public health among all environmental air pollutants.

•What are the immediate affects of secondhand smoke exposure?

Burning eyes, nose, and throat

Coughing

Makes the heart beat faster

Raises blood pressure

Causes headaches

Causes upset stomach

•Pregnant women are also at risk.

Pregnant women breathe for themselves and their unborn babies.

Pregnant women exposed to secondhand smoke may have babies

who:

- are smaller than normal

- have serious health problems

• An American Cancer Society study found that nonsmokers exposed to 20 or more cigarettes a day at home or work had twice the risk of developing lung cancer.

• Lung cancer is not the only hazard associated with secondhand smoke.

Children of smokers experience more illnesses such as:

- colds

- bronchitis and pneumonia (especially during the first 2 years of life)

- chronic coughs

- ear infections

- reduced lung function

• Non-smokers regularly exposed to PS have almost 2 times the risk of heart disease. About 50,000 nonsmokers experience fatal heart attacks every year.

• 1.3-2 million doctor office visits per year for cough are attributable to PS exposure in the home.

• The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency classifies PS as a group A carcinogen ( meaning it causes cancer and kills) Other group A carcinogens include benzene, asbestos and radon!

• PS exposure kills 6 nonsmoking Americans every hour!

More than 30 years ago, the U.S. Surgeon General released the first report on smoking and the resulting detrimental health effects. That report spawned interest in the effects of environmental tobacco smoke and it’s effects on a non-smoker’s health. In 1986, the U.S. Surgeon General released "The Health Consequences of Involuntary Smoking", which examines the scientific evidence on the health effects resulting from a nonsmoker’s exposure to environmental tobacco smoke. The major conclusions of that report are highlighted below.

The 3 major conclusions are the following:

  1. Involuntary smoking is a cause of disease, including lung cancer, in healthy nonsmokers.
  2. The children of parents who smoke compared with the children of nonsmoking parents have an increased frequency of respiratory infections, increased respiratory symptoms, and slightly smaller rates of increase in lung function as the lung matures.
  3. The simple separation of smokers and nonsmokers within the same air space may reduce, but does not eliminate, the exposure of nonsmokers to environmental tobacco smoke.

Below are some of the individual chapter summaries and conclusions

Health Effects of Environmental Tobacco Smoke Exposure
  1. Involuntary smoking can cause lung cancer in nonsmokers
  2. The children of parents who smoke have in increased frequency of hospitalization for bronchitis and pneumonia during the first year of life when compared with the children of nonsmokers.
  3. The children of parents who smoke have an increased frequency of a variety of acute respiratory illnesses and infections, including chest illnesses before 2 years of age and physician-diagnosed bronchitis, tracheitis, and laryngitis, when compared with the children of nonsmokers.
  4. Chronic cough and phlegm are more frequent in children whose parents smoke compared with children of nonsmokers. The implications of chronic respiratory symptoms for respiratory health as an adult are unknown and deserve further study.
  5. The children of parents who smoke have small differences in tests of pulmonary function when compared with the children of nonsmokers. Although this decrement is insufficient to cause symptoms, the possibility that it may increase susceptibility to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with exposure to other agents in adult life, e.g. active smoking or occupational exposures, needs investigation.
  6. A number of studies report that chronic middle ear effusions are more common in young children whose parents smoke than in children of nonsmoking parents.

Environmental Tobacco Smoke Chemistry and Exposures of Nonsmokers
  1. Undiluted sidestream smoke is characterized by significantly higher concentrations of many of the toxic and carcinogenic compounds found in mainstream smoke, including ammonia, volatile amines, volatile nitrosamines, certain nicotine decomposition products, and aromatic amines.
  2. Due to the small particle size of environmental tobacco smoke the distribution of ETS will occur rapidly through the volume of a room. As a result, the simple separation of smokers and nonsmokers within the same airspace may reduce, but will not eliminate, exposure to ETS.

Deposition and Absorption of Tobacco Smoke Constituents
  1. Absorption of tobacco-specific smoke constituents (i.e. nicotine) from ETS exposures has been documented in a number of samples of the general populaton of developed countries, suggesting that measurable exposure to ETS is common.
  2. Because of the stability of cotinine levels measured at different times during exposure and the availability of noninvasive sampling techniques, cotinine appears to be the short-term marker of choice in epidemiological studies.

Toxicity, Acute Irritant Effects, and Carcinogenicity of Environmental Tobacco Smoke
  1. The main effects of the irritants present in ETS occur in the conjuctiva of the eyes and the mucous membranes of the nose, throat, and lower respiratory tract. These irritant effects are a frequent cause of complaints about poor air quality due to ETS.

Policies Restricting Smoking in Public Places and the Workplace
  1. Beginning in the 1970's, an increasing number of public and private sector institutions have adopted policies to protect individuals from ETS exposure by restricting the circumstances in which smoking is permitted.
    2.
  2. Smoking policies may have multiple effects. In addition to reducing ETS exposure, they may alter smoking behavior and public attitudes about tobacco use. Over time, this may contribute to a reduction in smoking in the United States. To the present, there has been relatively little systematic evaluation of policies restricting smoking in public places or at the workplace.
  3. On the basis of case reports and a small number of systematic studies, it appears that workplace smoking policies improve air quality, are met with good compliance, and are well accepted by both smokers and nonsmokers. Policies appear to be followed by a decrease in smokers' cigarette consumption at work and an increase in enrollment in company-sponsored smoking cessation programs.
  4. Public opinion polls document strong and growing support for restricting or banning smoking in a wide range of public places. Changes in attitudes about smoking in public appear to have preceded legislation, but the interrelationship of smoking attitudes, behavior, and legislation are complex.

Above information from: "The Health Consequences of Involuntary Smoking: A report of the Surgeon General" , 1986.

The latest scientific report on environmental tobacco smoke was published in 1993 by the Environmental Protection Agency. This report conclusively demonstrates that ETS increases the risk of morbidity and mortality in nonsmokers. The findings of this report have been summarized below.

In Adults

ETS is a human lung carcinogen (cancer-causing agent), responsible for approximately 3,000 lung cancer deaths annually in US nonsmokers.

A nonsmoker exposed to ETS during everyday activities faces an increased lifetime risk of lung cancer of roughly 1-in-500 to 1-in-1,000. By comparison, EPA generally sets its standards or regulations so that increased cancer risks are below 1-in-10,000 to 1-in-million. In other words, estimated lung cancer risks associated with ETS are more than ten times greater than the cancer risks which would normally elicit an action by EPA.

ETS has subtle but significant effects on the respiratory health of nonsmokers, including reduced lung function, increased coughing, phlegm production, and chest discomfort.

In Children

ETS exposure is causally associated with an increased risk of lower respiratory tract infections such as bronchitis and pneumonia. This report estimates that 150,000 to 300,000 cases annually in infants and young children up to 18 months of age are attributed to ETS.

ETS exposure is causally associated with an increased prevalence of fluid in the middle ear, symptoms of upper respiratory tract irritation, and a small but significant reduction in lung function.

ETS exposure is causally associated with additional episodes and increased severity of symptoms in children with asthma, and this report estimates that 200,000 to 1 million asthmatic children have their condition worsened by exposure to ETS.

ETS exposure is a risk factor for new cases of asthma in children who have not previously displayed symptoms.