Second Hand Smoke
Secondhand smoke includes the smoke exhaled by smokers and the smoke produced by a cigarette, cigar, or similar object. Being exposed to secondhand smoke is just as harmful as smoking yourself. The leading causes of secondhand smoke are cigarettes, followed by pipes, cigars, and other tobacco products, which you can be exposed to in homes, cars, the workplace, and public places, such as bars, restaurants, and recreational settings.
Cancer and Heart Problems
Effects on Women and Children
Effects on Pets
Cancer and Heart Problems
- Smoking and secondhand smoke can cause lung cancer
- About 3,000 US adults die each year from secondhand smoke exposure
- Living with a smoker increases a person's chance of developing lung cancer by 20%-30%
- Exposure to smoke can increase your risk of a heart attack by harming blood vessels
- Heart disease caused by secondhand smoke kills about 46,000 nonsmokers every year
Effects on Women and Children
- If a pregnant woman breathes secondhand smoke she is more likely to have a lower birth weight
- Babies are more likely to: experience ear infections, develop bronchitis, develop pneumonia
- Also causes frequent asthma attacks, wheezing, coughing, and low respiratory illness in children
- Infants may die from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)
Effects on Pets
- Pets can get cancer from smoke too, and can experience all of the same effects as people do, including depression
- It can be even more dangerous for pets because it takes longer for signs of illness or depression to become apparent to the owner, therfor it can become more serious
Environmental Effects
The best way to prevent these consequences are to quit smoking. Manufacturers will not change their method of production to make it cleaner and safer for the environment, so consumers must force the industry to shut down by decreasing demand. Quit smoking to save the environment!
Air Pollution
Land and Water Pollution
Other Environmental Effects
Air Pollution
- The smoke produced by cigarettes contributes to air pollution
- 4000 chemicals are present in cigarettes
- When smoked these chemicals are released in the atmosphere
- Factories used to make cigarettes release chemicals during production
Land and Water Pollution
- Cigarette butts pollute the ground
- Most end up in bodies of water to pollute water sources
- Chemicals from cigarette butts leech into the soil
- Chemical waste produced by manufacturers is often dumped into nearby bodies of water
Other Environmental Effects
- 300 cigarettes require the destruction of 1 tree
- Pesticides and other harmful chemicals are sprayed to maintain tobacco crops
- Cigarette butts can cause fires during dry seasons