Health Effects of Secondhand Smoke | 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 ... Skipdirectlytositecontent Skipdirectlytopageoptions SkipdirectlytoA-Zlink Smoking&TobaccoUse SectionNavigation CDCHome Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Syndicate HealthEffectsofSecondhandSmoke Minus RelatedPages OnThisPage SecondhandSmokeCausesCardiovascularDiseaseSecondhandSmokeCausesLungCancerSecondhandSmokeCausesSIDSSecondhandSmokeHarmsChildrenReferences Secondhandsmokeisthecombinationofsmokefromtheburningendofacigaretteandthesmokebreathedoutbysmokers.Secondhandsmokecontainsmorethan7,000chemicals.Hundredsaretoxicandabout70cancausecancer.1,2,3,4 Sincethe1964SurgeonGeneral’sReport,2.5millionadultswhowerenonsmokersdiedbecausetheybreathedsecondhandsmoke.1 Thereisnorisk-freelevelofexposuretosecondhandsmoke. Secondhandsmokecausesnumeroushealthproblemsininfantsandchildren,includingmorefrequentandsevereasthmaattacks,respiratoryinfections,earinfections,andsuddeninfantdeathsyndrome(SIDS).1,4 Smokingduringpregnancyresultsinmorethan1,000infantdeathsannually.4 Someofthehealthconditionscausedbysecondhandsmokeinadultsincludecoronaryheartdisease,stroke,andlungcancer.1,4   HealthConsequencesCausallyLinkedtoExposuretoSecondhandSmoke Note: Theconditioninredisanewdiseasecausallylinkedtosecondhandsmokeinthe2014SurgeonGeneral’sReport4 SecondhandSmokeCausesCardiovascularDiseaseExposuretosecondhandsmokehasimmediateadverseeffectsonthecardiovascularsystemandcancausecoronaryheartdiseaseandstroke.2,4,5 Secondhandsmokecausesnearly34,000prematuredeathsfromheartdiseaseeachyearintheUnitedStatesamongnonsmokers.4 Nonsmokerswhoareexposedtosecondhandsmokeathomeoratworkincreasetheirriskofdevelopingheartdiseaseby25–30%.1 Secondhandsmokeincreasestheriskforstrokeby20−30%.4 Secondhandsmokeexposurecausesmorethan8,000deathsfromstrokeannually.4 Breathingsecondhandsmokecanhaveimmediateadverseeffectsonyourbloodandbloodvessels,increasingtheriskofhavingaheartattack.2,3,4 Breathingsecondhandsmokeinterfereswiththenormalfunctioningoftheheart,blood,andvascularsystemsinwaysthatincreasetheriskofhavingaheartattack. Evenbriefexposuretosecondhandsmokecandamagetheliningofbloodvesselsandcauseyourbloodplateletstobecomestickier.Thesechangescancauseadeadlyheartattack. Peoplewhoalreadyhaveheartdiseaseareatespeciallyhighriskofsufferingadverseeffectsfrombreathingsecondhandsmokeandshouldtakespecialprecautionstoavoidevenbriefexposures.1 SecondhandSmokeCausesLungCancerSecondhandsmokecauseslungcancerinadultswhohaveneversmoked.4 Nonsmokerswhoareexposedtosecondhandsmokeathomeoratworkincreasetheirriskofdevelopinglungcancerby20–30%.2 Secondhandsmokecausesmorethan7,300lungcancerdeathsamongU.S.nonsmokerseachyear.4 Nonsmokerswhoareexposedtosecondhandsmokeareinhalingmanyofthesamecancer-causingsubstancesandpoisonsassmokers.2,3,4 Evenbriefsecondhandsmokeexposurecandamagecellsinwaysthatsetthecancerprocessinmotion.4 Aswithactivesmoking,thelongerthedurationandthehigherthelevelofexposuretosecondhandsmoke,thegreatertheriskofdevelopinglungcancer.4 SecondhandSmokeCausesSIDSSuddenInfantDeathSyndrome(SIDS)isthesudden,unexplained,unexpecteddeathofaninfantinthefirstyearoflife.SIDSistheleadingcauseofdeathinotherwisehealthyinfants.6 SecondhandsmokeincreasestheriskforSIDS.2,4 SmokingbywomenduringpregnancyincreasestheriskforSIDS.2,4,7 InfantswhoareexposedtosecondhandsmokeafterbirtharealsoatgreaterriskforSIDS.2,4 Chemicalsinsecondhandsmokeappeartoaffectthebraininwaysthatinterferewithitsregulationofinfants’breathing.2,4 InfantswhodiefromSIDShavehigherconcentrationsofnicotineintheirlungsandhigherlevelsofcotinine(abiologicalmarkerforsecondhandsmokeexposure)thaninfantswhodiefromothercauses.2,4 ParentscanhelpprotecttheirbabiesfromSIDSbytakingthefollowingthreeactions:8 Donotsmokeduringpregnancy. Donotsmokeorallowsmokinginyourhomeoraroundyourbaby. Placeyourbabyonhisorherbackforallsleeptimes—napsandatnight. SecondhandSmokeHarmsChildrenSecondhandsmokecancauseserioushealthproblemsinchildren.2,4 Studiesshowthatolderchildrenwhoseparentssmokegetsickmoreoften.Theirlungsgrowlessthanchildrenwhodonotbreathesecondhandsmoke,andtheygetmorebronchitisandpneumonia. Wheezingandcoughingaremorecommoninchildrenwhobreathesecondhandsmoke. Secondhandsmokecantriggeranasthmaattackinachild.Childrenwithasthmawhoarearoundsecondhandsmokehavemoresevereandfrequentasthmaattacks.Asevereasthmaattackcanputachild’slifeindanger. Childrenwhoseparentssmokearoundthemgetmoreearinfections.Theyalsohavefluidintheirearsmoreoftenandhavemoreoperationstoputineartubesfordrainage. Parentscanhelpprotecttheirchildrenfromsecondhandsmokebytakingthefollowingactions:9 Donotallowanyonetosmokeanywhereinornearyourhome. Donotallowanyonetosmokeinyourcar,evenwiththewindowdown. Makesureyourchildren’sdaycarecentersandschoolsaretobacco-free. Ifyourstatestillallowssmokinginpublicareas,lookforrestaurantsandotherplacesthatdonotallowsmoking.“No-smokingsections”donotprotectyouandyourfamilyfromsecondhandsmoke. References U.S.DepartmentofHealthandHumanServices.Let’sMaketheNextGenerationTobacco-Free:YourGuidetothe50thAnniversarySurgeonGeneral’sReportonSmokingandHealthpdficonexternalicon.[PDF–795KB]Atlanta:U.S.DepartmentofHealthandHumanServices,CentersforDiseaseControlandPrevention,NationalCenterforChronicDiseasePreventionandHealthPromotion,OfficeonSmokingandHealth,2014[accessed2016Jan11]. U.S.DepartmentofHealthandHumanServices.TheHealthConsequencesofInvoluntaryExposuretoTobaccoSmoke:AReportoftheSurgeonGeneralexternalicon.Atlanta:U.S.DepartmentofHealthandHumanServices,CentersforDiseaseControlandPrevention,NationalCenterforChronicDiseasePreventionandHealthPromotion,OfficeonSmokingandHealth,2006[accessed2017Jan11]. U.S.DepartmentofHealthandHumanServices.AReportoftheSurgeonGeneral:HowTobaccoSmokeCausesDisease:WhatItMeanstoYou.Atlanta:U.S.DepartmentofHealthandHumanServices,CentersforDiseaseControlandPrevention,NationalCenterforChronicDiseasePreventionandHealthPromotion,OfficeonSmokingandHealth,2010[accessed2017Jan11]. U.S.DepartmentofHealthandHumanServices.TheHealthConsequencesofSmoking—50YearsofProgress:AReportoftheSurgeonGeneral.Atlanta:U.S.DepartmentofHealthandHumanServices,CentersforDiseaseControlandPrevention,NationalCenterforChronicDiseasePreventionandHealthPromotion,OfficeonSmokingandHealth,2014[accessed2017Jan11]. InstituteofMedicine.SecondhandSmokeExposureandCardiovascularEffects:MakingSenseoftheEvidenceexternalicon.Washington:NationalAcademyofSciences,InstituteofMedicine,2010[accessed2017Jan11]. AmericanAcademyofPediatrics,TaskForceonSuddenInfantDeathSyndrome.TheChangingConceptofSuddenInfantDeathSyndrome:DiagnosticCodingShifts;ControversiesRegardingtheSleepingEnvironment;andNewVariablestoConsiderinReducingRisk.Pediatrics2005;116(5):1245–55[cited2017Jan11]. U.S.DepartmentofHealthandHumanServices.TheHealthConsequencesofSmoking:AReportoftheSurgeonGeneral.Atlanta:U.S.DepartmentofHealthandHumanServices,CentersforDiseaseControlandPrevention,NationalCenterforChronicDiseasePreventionandHealthPromotion,OfficeonSmokingandHealth,2004[accessed2017Jan11]. CentersforDiseaseControlandPrevention.SuddenUnexpectedInfantDeathandSuddenInfantDeathSyndrome:ParentsandCaregivers).CentersforDiseaseControlandPrevention,DivisionofReproductiveHealth,NationalCenterforChronicDiseasePreventionandHealthPromotion[lastreviewed2019Dec9;accessed2020Feb25]. U.S.DepartmentofHealthandHumanServices.HowTobaccoSmokeCausesDisease:WhatItMeanstoYou.Atlanta:U.S.DepartmentofHealthandHumanServices,CentersforDiseaseControlandPrevention,NationalCenterforChronicDiseasePreventionandHealthPromotion,OfficeonSmokingandHealth,2010[accessed2017Jan11]. ForFurtherInformation CentersforDiseaseControlandPrevention NationalCenterforChronicDiseasePreventionandHealthPromotion OfficeonSmokingandHealth E-mail:[email protected] Phone:1-800-CDC-INFO MediaInquiries:ContactCDC’sOfficeonSmokingandHealthpresslineat770-488-5493. 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