Smoking doesn’t just affect your own health. It also has a negative impact on your loved ones. Quitting smoking for their own health can be extra motivation—and if you are often surrounded by secondhand smoke, you can learn how to protect yourself.
What is Secondhand Smoke?
There are two sources of secondhand smoke: the smoke that is breathed out from the smoker (mainstream smoke), and the smoke that is coming from the cigarette itself (sidestream smoke). Anyone around a smoker will breathe in this secondhand smoke.
Secondhand smoke can stay in the air for hours after somebody smokes in that vicinity, and it can be harmful to breathe it in, even for a short time. This is actually referred to as involuntary smoking, or passive smoking.
Secondhand Smoke Dangers
Researchers have noticed that secondhand smoke is associated with health problems in individuals who do not smoke. These health problems include heart disease, lung cancer, wheezing, shortness of breath, and other breathing problems.
Secondhand smoke is especially dangerous in pregnant women, babies, and children. Pregnant women exposed to secondhand smoke can have babies with low birth weight. Babies around secondhand smoke are more likely to experience lung infections and other problems. And for children, asthma and other health issues are possible results.
Protection from Secondhand Smoke
The best way to keep others safe from secondhand smoke is to not allow smoking indoors. If you are currently a smoker, you can protect your loved ones by quitting as soon as possible.
Avoid areas with heavy smoke, and make sure that you choose caretakers for your family that do not smoke. Teach children and other family members about steering clear of those who are outside smoking in order to avoid inhaling secondhand smoke.
The Hidden Dangers of Secondhand Smoke
Posted On: 08-25-2017
See Related Articles
An Update on the Legionnaires’ Outbreak
Twelve people are dead following the Legionnaires’ outbrea ...
Posted On: 08-18-2015
read more
E-Cigarettes Tested for Dangerous Chemicals
A study published in Environmental Health Perspectives and s ...
Posted On: 12-11-2015
read more
New FDA Ruling Involves E-Cigarettes
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a ruli ...
Posted On: 05-06-2016
read more
New Recommendations for DIY Cloth Masks & What You Can Use
The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently ...
Posted On: 04-10-2020
read more
New Study Emphasizes Quitting Cold Turkey
The study followed almost 700 smokers and was performed by t ...
Posted On: 03-18-2016
read more
New Study Looks at Smoking in HIV Patients
Research has shown that HIV patients who smoke are more like ...
Posted On: 11-04-2016
read more
New Study: Understanding Smokers’ “Healthy” Lungs
The study was presented at a European Respiratory Society me ...
Posted On: 09-30-2015
read more
Recent Study Shows How Long Smoking Lingers in DNA
A new study published in Circulation: Cardiovascular Genetic ...
Posted On: 09-23-2016
read more
San Francisco’s Raised Smoking Age
Beginning on June 1st of this year, the minimum age for toba ...
Posted On: 03-04-2016
read more
Feedback