Secondhand Smoke
What is secondhand smoke?
Secondhand smoke (SHS) is also known as environmental tobacco smoke (ETS). SHS is a mixture of 2 forms of smoke that come from burning tobacco:
- Sidestream smoke – smoke from the lighted end of a cigarette, pipe, or cigar
- Mainstream smoke – the smoke exhaled by a smoker
Even though we think of these as the same, they aren’t. Sidestream smoke
has higher concentrations of cancer-causing agents (carcinogens) than
mainstream smoke. And, it has smaller particles than mainstream smoke,
which make their way into the lungs and the body’s cells more easily.
When non-smokers are exposed to SHS it is called involuntary smoking or passive smoking. Non-smokers
who breathe in SHS take in nicotine and toxic chemicals by the same
route smokers do. The more SHS you breathe, the higher the level of
these harmful chemicals in your body.
Why is secondhand smoke a problem?
Secondhand smoke causes cancer
Secondhand smoke is classified as a “known human carcinogen”
(cancer-causing agent) by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),
the US National Toxicology Program, and the International Agency for
Research on Cancer (IARC), a branch of the World Health Organization.
Tobacco smoke contains more than 7,000 chemical compounds. More than 250
of these chemicals are known to be harmful, and at least 69 are known
to cause cancer.
SHS has been linked to lung cancer. There is also some evidence
suggesting it may be linked with childhood leukemia and cancers of the
larynx (voice box), pharynx (throat), brain, bladder, rectum, stomach,
and breast.
IARC reported in 2009 that parents who smoked before and during
pregnancy were more likely to have a child with hepatoblastoma. This
rare cancer is thought to start while the child is still in the uterus.
Compared with non-smoking parents, the risk was about twice as high if
only one parent smoked, but nearly 5 times higher when both parents
smoked.
Secondhand smoke causes other kinds of diseases and death
Secondhand smoke can cause harm in many ways. Each year in the United States alone, it is responsible for:
- An estimated 46,000 deaths from heart disease in people who are current non-smokers
- About 3,400 lung cancer deaths in non-smoking adults
- Worse asthma and asthma-related problems in up to 1 million asthmatic children
- Between 150,000 and 300,000 lower
respiratory tract infections (lung and bronchus) in children under 18
months of age, with 7,500 to 15,000 hospitalizations each year
- Children exposed to secondhand smoke are
much more likely to be put into intensive care when they have the flu,
they are in the hospital longer, and are more likely to need breathing
tubes than kids who aren’t exposed to SHS
- In the United States, the costs of extra medical care, illness, and death caused by SHS are over $10 billion per year
Where is secondhand smoke a problem?
You should be especially concerned about exposure to secondhand smoke in these 4 places:
At work
The workplace is a major source of SHS exposure for many adults.
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the federal agency
responsible for health and safety in the workplace, is concerned about
SHS as a possible carcinogen at work. The National Institute for
Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and OSHA recognize there are no
known safe levels of SHS, and recommend that exposures be reduced to the
lowest possible levels.
SHS in the workplace has been linked to an increased risk for heart
disease and lung cancer among adult non-smokers. The Surgeon General has
said that smoke-free workplace policies are the only way to do away
with SHS exposure at work. Separating smokers from non-smokers, cleaning
the air, and ventilating the building cannot prevent exposure if people
still smoke inside the building. An extra bonus other than protecting
non-smokers is that workplace smoking restrictions may also encourage
smokers to smoke less, or even quit.
In public places
Everyone can be exposed to SHS in public places, such as restaurants,
shopping centers, public transportation, schools, and daycare centers.
The Surgeon General has suggested people choose restaurants and other
businesses that are smoke-free, and let owners of businesses that are
not smoke-free know that SHS is harmful to your family’s health.
Some businesses seem to be afraid to ban smoking, but there’s no proof
that going smoke-free is bad for business. Public places where children
go are a special area of concern. Make sure that your children’s day
care center or school is smoke-free.
At home
Making your home smoke-free may be one of the most important things you
can do for the health of your family. Any family member can develop
health problems related to SHS.
Children’s growing bodies are especially sensitive to the poisons in
SHS. Asthma, lung infections, and ear infections are more common in
children who are around smokers. Some of these problems can be serious
and even life-threatening. Others may seem like small problems, but they
add up quickly — the expenses, time for doctor visits, medicines, lost
school time, and often lost work time for the parent who must stay home
with a sick child.
Think about it: we spend more time at home than anywhere else. A
smoke-free home protects your family, your guests, and even your pets.
Multi-unit housing where smoking is allowed is a special concern and a
subject of research. Tobacco smoke can move through air ducts, wall and
floor cracks, elevator shafts, and along crawl spaces to contaminate
apartments on other floors, even those that are far from the smoke. SHS
cannot be controlled with ventilation, air cleaning, or by separating
smokers from non-smokers.
In the car
Americans spend a great deal of time in cars, and if someone smokes
there, the poisons can build up quickly. Again, this can be especially
harmful to children.
In response to this fact, the US Environmental Protection Agency has
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.
What about smoking odors?
There is no research in the medical literature as yet that shows
cigarette odors cause cancer in people. Research does show that
particles from secondhand tobacco smoke can settle into dust and onto
surfaces and remain there long after the smoke is gone — some studies
suggest the particles can last for months. Researchers call this thirdhand smoke or
residual tobacco smoke. Studies have shown that the particles that
settle out from tobacco smoke can form more cancer-causing compounds.
Though unknown, the cancer-causing effects would likely be small
compared with direct exposure to SHS. The compounds may be stirred up
and inhaled with other house dust, but may also be absorbed through the
skin or accidentally taken in through the mouth. This is why any risk
the compounds pose may be larger for babies and children who play on the
floor and often put things in their mouths. No actual cancer risk has
been measured, but the health risks of thirdhand smoke are an active
area of research.
What can be done about secondhand smoke?
Local, state, and federal authorities can enact public policies to
protect people from SHS and protect children from tobacco-caused
diseases and addiction. Because there are no safe levels of SHS, it’s
important that any such policies be as strong as possible, and that they
do not prevent action at other levels of government.
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. Many
have passed clean indoor air laws. Although the laws vary from place to
place, they are becoming more common. Detailed information on smoking
restrictions in each state is available from the American Lung
Association at
www.lungusa2.org/slati/.
To protect your love ones from smoke or pollution in your car, use Medklinn Autoplus.
For more detail information, please visit http://medklinnudara.blogspot.co.id/
Source :
American Cancer Society
Contact : 02129378811
WA : 087886804253
BB Pin : 57C10837
rudi.iskandar@optimakreasi.co.id
