How is second hand smoke harmful

National Toxicology Program. Report on Carcinogens, Fourteenth Edition external icon. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report ;59 35 —6 [accessed Feb 21].

Philip Morris et al. Preventing Chronic Disease 17 [accessed Oct 13]. MMWR ;68 27 : [accessed Sep 9]. National and state estimates of secondhand smoke infiltration among U.

Nicotine and Tobacco Research a;15 7 — Nicotine and Tobacco Research ;19 2 : [accessed Sep 9]. What's this. Related CDC Sites. Social Media. Children with asthma who are around secondhand smoke have more severe and frequent asthma attacks. Children whose parents smoke around them get more ear infections.

They also have fluid in their ears more often and have more operations to put in ear tubes for drainage. Parents can help protect their children from secondhand smoke by taking the following actions: 9 Do not allow anyone to smoke anywhere in or near your home. Do not allow anyone to smoke in your car, even with the window down.

If your state still allows smoking in public areas, look for restaurants and other places that do not allow smoking. Department of Health and Human Services. Atlanta: U. Institute of Medicine. Pediatrics ; 5 —55 [cited Jan 11]. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For Further Information.

Tobacco smoke can move through air ducts, wall and floor cracks, elevator shafts, and along crawl spaces to contaminate units on other floors, even those that are far from the smoke. SHS cannot be controlled with ventilation, air cleaning, or by separating those who smoke from those who don't. Americans spend a great deal of time in cars, and if someone smokes there, the toxins can build up quickly — even when the windows are open or the air-conditioner is on.

Again, this can be especially harmful to children. In response to this fact, many expert medical groups have been working to encourage people to make their cars, as well as their homes, smoke-free. Some states and cities even have laws that ban smoking in the car if carrying passengers under a certain age or weight.

And many facilities such as city buildings, malls, schools, colleges, and hospitals ban smoking on their grounds, including their parking lots. There is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke SHS. Any exposure is harmful. The only way to fully protect people who don't smoke from SHS indoors is to prohibit all smoking in that indoor space or building.

Separating those who smoke from those who don't, cleaning the air, and ventilating buildings cannot keep people who don't smoke from being exposed to SHS. Many US local and state governments, and even federal governments in some other countries, have decided that protecting the health of employees and others in public places is of the utmost importance and have passed clean indoor air laws.

Although the laws vary from place to place, they are becoming more common. Tobacco smoke inside a room tends to hang in mid-air rather than disperse. Hot smoke rises, but tobacco smoke cools rapidly, which stops its upward climb.

Since the smoke is heavier than the air, the smoke starts to descend. A person who smokes heavily indoors creates a low-lying smoke cloud that other householders have no choice but to breathe. Tobacco smoke contains around 7, chemicals, made up of particles and gases, over 70 of which are known to cause cancer. Second-hand smoke has been confirmed as a cause of lung cancer by several leading health authorities.

Chemicals in second-hand smoke such as ammonia, sulphur and formaldehyde damage the eyes, nose, throat and lungs. Exposure to second-hand smoke can trigger or worsen symptoms. When a pregnant woman breathes in any tobacco smoke, her unborn baby is exposed to the chemicals in the smoke too. Both smoking and passive smoking can seriously affect the developing baby.

Women who smoke are at greater risk of ectopic pregnancy. When a non-smoking pregnant woman is exposed to second-hand smoke in the home — for example, if her partner smokes — it increases the risk for:. Active smoking by men can damage their sperm. These include:. Children are especially vulnerable to the damaging effects of second-hand smoke. Some of the many health risks include:. People who have never smoked who live with people who do smoke are at increased risk of a range of tobacco-related diseases and other health risks, including:.

When you stop smoking, you are not only doing great things for your own health, but for your loved ones. Help is available if you want to stop smoking. To find out all your options, call Quitline Tel. If you smoke but you are unwilling or unable to stop immediately, there are various ways to help protect the health of the people you live with.