By: Dr. Khanh Nguyen, DO If you’re a parent or you’re going to be one, now is the time for you to stop smoking. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, 54 percent of children aged 3 to 11 years are exposed to secondhand smoke, at home, in cars or elsewhere.
From The CDC. Secondhand smoke is the combination of smoke from the burning end of a cigarette and the smoke breathed out by smokers. Secondhand smoke contains more than 7,000 chemicals. Hundreds are toxic and about 70 can cause cancer. 1,2,3,4. Since the 1964 Surgeon General’s Report, 2.5 million adults who were nonsmokers died because they breathed secondhand smoke. 1. There is no risk.
Many people find secondhand smoke unpleasant, annoying, and irritating to the eyes and nose. More importantly, it represents a dangerous health hazard. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), tobacco smoke contains a deadly mix of more than 7,000 chemicals, hundreds of which are toxic, and about 70 can cause cancer.
Secondhand smoke definition is - tobacco smoke that is exhaled by smokers or is given off by burning tobacco and is inhaled by persons nearby.
As you probably know, secondhand smoke means health risks for the people around you. Even if you don’t smoke near them, they can still breathe in the smoke (and the harmful chemicals it contains) from your hair, skin and clothes. There is no safe level of secondhand smoke. Did you know there are at least 250 chemicals in secondhand smoke that are known to be toxic, including more than 50.
This brochure is based on The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke: A Report of the Surgeon General and its summary, Secondhand Smoke: What It Means to You. CS232604-A CDC-INFO Pub ID 221284.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) leads comprehensive efforts to prevent the initiation of tobacco use among youth and young adults; eliminate exposure to secondhand tobacco product emissions (e.g., secondhand smoke and aerosol); help current smokers quit; and identify and eliminate tobacco-related disparities.