4B COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL November 18, 2015
Smoke from a cigarette can linger
in the air for as long as 12 minutes,
leaving non-smokers at risk even
after smokers fi nish a cigarette.
QUIT
smoking
Secondhand smoke a killer to nonsmokers
Most men and women who smoke tobacco are
fully aware of the damage they might be doing
to their bodies. In addition to increasing their
risk for lung cancer, smoking can also increase
a person’s risk for heart disease and other
potentially deadly ailments.
What those men and women might not know
is the extent of the damage their smoking is
doing to those around them. According to the
American Cancer Society, secondhand smoke
is responsible for 3,400 lung cancer deaths
among nonsmokers each year. Gaining a better
understanding of secondhand smoke might
help smokers quit once and for all.
What exactly is secondhand smoke?
Also known as environmental tobacco smoke,
secondhand smoke is actually a mixture of
two forms of smoke that comes from burning
tobacco. Smoke that comes from the end of
a lighted cigarette, cigar or pipe is known as
sidestream smoke, while the smoke a smoker
exhales is called mainstream smoke. Compared
to mainstream smoke, sidestream smoke has
higher concentrations of cancer-causing agents
known as carcinogens. Sidestream smoke also
contains smaller particles than mainstream
smoke, making it easier for sidestream smoke
to enter the body’s ells.
Do nonsmokers take in
nicotine from secondhand smoke?
Nonsmokers who inhale secondhand smoke do
take in nicotine in the process. A 1988 report
from the U.S. Surgeon General concluded that
nicotine is a drug that causes addiction and can
cause a short-term increase in blood pressure,
heart rate and the fl ow of blood from the heart.
Because nonsmokers who take in secondhand
smoke are taking in nicotine, they, too, are
susceptible to the aforementioned side eff ects.
In addition to taking in nicotine, nonsmokers
around secondhand smoke are also taking in
the thousands of other chemicals secondhand
smoke contains. Th ese chemicals include
carbon monoxide, which is also found in
automobile exhaust, and cadmium, a chemical
element commonly used in batteries.
Does secondhand smoke
cause other kinds of diseases?
Secondhand smoke is responsible for thousands
of deaths each year in the U.S. alone. But
secondhand smoke does not only contribute to
cancer. In fact, the ACS notes that secondhand
smoke is responsible for an estimated 46,000
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deaths from heart disease in nonsmokers who
live with smokers.
What many people fi nd the most troubling
fi gures associated with secondhand smoke is its
impact on children, especially those younger
than 18 months of age. Th e ACS estimates that
each year secondhand smoke is responsible for
50,000 to 300,000 lung infections, including
pneumonia and bronchitis, in children
younger than 18. An additional 750,000 middle
ear infections in children can be linked to
secondhand smoke.
Studies are ongoing into a possible link
between secondhand smoke and breast cancer.
Th ough research is ongoing, the ACS notes that
chemicals from tobacco smoke reach breast
tissue and have been found in breast milk.
However, debate over a possible link between
breast cancer and secondhand smoke continues
for a variety of reasons, not the least of which
is that breast cancer risk has not been shown to
increase among active smokers.
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Where does secondhand
smoke pose a problem?
Secondhand smoke is problematic anywhere
someone is smoking or has smoked. In fact,
the Canadian Cancer Society points out that
cigarettes produce roughly 12 minutes of
smoke, even though a smoker might only
inhale 30 seconds of smoke from the cigarette.
As the smoke lingers, even long aft er a smoker
has disappeared, nonsmokers are left to breathe
in that smoke.
Smokers who recognize the potentially deadly
side eff ects of their habit should be especially
mindful of those side eff ects when lighting up.
Smoking inside a home, for instance, is putting
everyone in the home at heightened risk of
a host of ailments. Children are especially
sensitive to secondhand smoke, and the ACS
notes that between 50 to 75 percent of children
in the U.S. have detectable levels of cotinine, the
breakdown product of nicotine, in their blood.
Many public places, including New York City’s
famed Central Park, have banned smoking, and
smoking in the workplace is illegal in many
countries.
More information on secondhand smoke is
available at www.cancer.org.
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116 N. 6th St
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