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......TOBACCO CONTROL RESOURCE PROGRAM

 

.Second-Hand Smoke:

A Danger to You and Your Family’s Health

By Daniella Cardenas, Prevention Coordinator San Diego –Tijuana Border Initiative

.......At the beginning of the 20th century, smoking became popular because large cigarette companies promoted the use of this deadly product among soldiers during World War II. Soldiers overseas were given free cigarettes every day. It was not until 1950 that scientists discovered the negative effects of smoking on our general health. The alarming news was not only the damage that it caused directly to smokers like lung cancer, pulmonary emphysema and cardiac deficiencies among others chronic diseases, but also the irreversible damage that was passed on to passive smokers, from what today is known as “second hand smoke.” It is estimated that by the year 2000, 4.9 million deaths in the United States have been caused by diseases attributed to second hand smoke exposure. Death from second-hand smoke exposure is the second leading cause of death worldwide. Because the numbers are so staggering, it is important to understand the harmful effects of second-hand smoke and their impact on the health of our families.

.......Passive smokers are those who inhale the smoke that comes from an ignited cigarette and/or the smoke that is exhaled by the smoker. Second-hand smoke is dangerous due to the fact that it contains not only more than 4.000 chemicals known to provoke different types of cancer, but it also contains exhaled carbon monoxide from the smoker. Second-hand smoke not only causes health problems for adults and children, but can also cause damage to the fetus during the pregnancy as well as bringing irreversible problems to the health of newborns.

.......Second-hand smoke during pregnancy can also cause miscarriage, premature birth, low birth weight, and/or delays in physical and intellectual growth. Newborns whose mothers are exposed to second-hand smoke, or whose mothers smoked during pregnancy are more prone to die from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) or “cradle death,” which causes that the lungs or brain of newborns to stop functioning suddenly and without warning.

.......Second-hand smoke in the lungs of older children alters their immune system, which causes a loss of basic defenses to fight against conventional diseases like coughs or colds. These common diseases can easily worsen becoming bronchitis or pneumonia and have been known to cause death. In children who suffer from asthma or are in the beginning stages of asthma and are continuously exposed to second-hand smoke will usually have more frequent and more aggressive attacks, putting their life in danger, especially when compared with children with asthma who live in environments free of second-hand smoke. Children exposed to second-hand smoke have more frequent and more painful ear infections and are complicated by increased liquid in the ear and often need an operation of the otitis media.

.......In adults, besides the respiratory problems mentioned previously, second-hand smoke can also damage the lining of the blood vessels, which can lead to cardiac attacks. But second-hand smoke causes more than just respiratory and cardiac problems; it has been linked to a countless amount of cancers related to the tobacco use, among them, cancer of the mouth, pharynx, larynx, esophagus, stomach, neck, uterus, bladder and skin. Persons who have a tendency to develop cancer due to hereditary factors, can develop disease more quickly if they smoke or if they are exposed to second-hand smoke.

.......Our bodies and our families are treasures that we must take care of and protect from any possible harm and from preventable diseases caused by second-hand smoke. Knowing the risks that exposure to second-hand smoke causes, it is important that we look for the ways to avoid its propagation and make our indoor and outdoor environments free of tobacco and free of second-hand smoke in every instance possible.