Health Effects of Secondhand Smoke - American Lung ...

Secondhand smoke is a serious health hazard causing more than 41,000 deaths per year. It can cause or make worse a wide range of damaging health effects in ... Home QuitSmoking SmokingFacts HealthEffectsofSmokingandTobaccoProducts HealthEffectsofSecondhandSmoke HealthEffectsofSecondhandSmoke Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Print SectionMenu QuitSmoking EndtheEpidemic SmokingFacts HealthEffectsofSmokingandTobaccoProducts HealthEffectsofSmoking HealthEffectsofSecondhandSmoke MarijuanaandLungHealth Nicotine WhatIsMenthol? HealthEffectsofCigars FactsAboutHookah HealthEffectsofSmokelessTobaccoProducts IWantToQuitSmoking HelpSomeoneQuitSmoking HelpingTeensQuitSmokingandVaping JoinFreedomFromSmoking E-Cigarettes&Vaping Secondhandsmokeisaserioushealthhazardcausingmorethan41,000deathsperyear.Itcancauseormakeworseawiderangeofdamaginghealtheffectsinchildrenandadults,includinglungcancer,respiratoryinfectionsandasthma.TheAmericanLungAssociationhasmoreinformationavailableonlawsprotectingthepublicfromexposuretosecondhandsmoke.KeyFactsaboutSecondhandSmokeSecondhandsmokecausesapproximately7,330deathsfromlungcancerand33,950deathsfromheartdiseaseeachyear.1Between1964and2014,2.5millionpeoplediedfromexposuretosecondhandsmoke,accordingtothe2014reportfromtheU.S.SurgeonGeneral.Thereportalsoconcludedthatsecondhandsmokeisadefinitivecauseofstroke.1Thereisnorisk-freelevelofexposuretosecondhandsmokeandevenshort-termexposurepotentiallycanincreasetheriskofheartattacks.2Secondhandsmokecontainshundredsofchemicalsknowntobetoxicorcarcinogenic,includingformaldehyde,benzene,vinylchloride,arsenicammoniaandhydrogencyanide.2Secondhandsmokecancauseheartattacks;evenrelativelybriefexposurecantriggeraheartattack,accordingtoareportbytheInstituteofMedicine.3SecondhandSmokeintheWorkplaceSecondhandsmokecostsoureconomy$5.6billionperyearduetolostproductivity.1Thehealthofnonsmokersexposedtosecondhandsmokeatworkisatincreasedrisk.Levelsofsecondhandsmokeinrestaurantsandbarswerefoundtobe2-5timeshigherthaninresidenceswithsmokers,and 2-6timeshigherthaninofficeworkplaces.4Beingemployedinaworkplacewheresmokingisprohibitedisassociatedwithareductioninthenumberofcigarettessmokedperdayandanincreaseinthesuccessrateofsmokerswhoareattemptingtoquit.5Casinoworkersinparticularareexposedtohazardouslevelsoftoxicsecondhandsmokeatwork,includingtobacco-specificcarcinogensthatincreasedintheirbodiesastheirworkshiftsprogressed,accordingtoareportfromtheNationalInstituteforOccupationalSafetyandHealth.6SecondhandSmokeandChildrenSecondhandsmokeisespeciallyharmfultoyoungchildren.Secondhandsmokeisresponsibleforbetween150,000and300,000lowerrespiratorytractinfectionsininfantsandchildrenunder18monthsofage,resultinginbetween7,500and15,000hospitalizationseachyear.Italsocauses430suddeninfantdeathsyndrome(SIDS)deathsintheU.S.annually.7Secondhandsmokeexposuremaycauseabuildupoffluidinthemiddleear,resultingin790,000doctor'sofficevisitsperyear,aswellasmorethan202,000asthmaflare-upsamongchildreneachyear.7Morethan23million,orabout35%ofchildrenintheU.S.havebeenexposedtosecondhandsmoke.8SecondhandSmokeandLungCancerPatientsDatashowthatpatientswithnon-smallcelllungcancer(themostcommontypeoflungcancer)whoareexposedtosecondhandsmokehaveworseoutcomes.9 Including:Reducedoverallsurvival.Reducedprogression-freesurvival(thelengthoftimeduringandaftertreatmentwhenthecancerdoesnotgroworspread).Simplyput:lungcancerpatientsexposedtosecondhandsmokearemorelikelytodiethanpatientsnotexposed.Exposuretosecondhandsmokemakesitharderforlungcancerpatientswhosmoketoquitsmoking.10Smokingduringlungcancertreatmentmakesthetreatmentlesseffective.11,12 WhataboutThirdhandSmoke? Thirdhandsmokeoccurswhencancer-causingresiduefromtobaccosmokestickstosurfacessuchascarpetsandwalls.Residuelingersforweeks-to-monthsandcanre-entertheair.Childrenandpetsmaybemostvulnerable. LearnabouttheAmericanLungAssociation'sprograms tohelpyouoralovedonequitsmoking,andjoinouradvocacyeffortstoreducetobaccouseandexposuretosecondhandsmoke.VisitLung.orgorcalltheLungHelpLineat1-800-LUNGUSA(1-800-586-4872). References U.S.DepartmentofHealthandHumanServices.TheHealthConsequencesofSmoking—50YearsofProgress:AReportoftheSurgeonGeneral.2014. U.S.DepartmentofHealthandHumanServices.TheHealthConsequencesofInvoluntaryExposuretoTobaccoSmoke:AReportoftheSurgeonGeneral.2006. InstituteofMedicine.SecondhandSmokeExposureandCardiovascularEffects:MakingSenseoftheEvidence.Washington,DC:TheNationalAcademiesPress.2009. U.S.DepartmentofHealthandHumanServices.ReportonCarcinogens,TenthEdition2002.NationalToxicologyProgram. NationalCancerInstitute.PopulationBasedSmokingCessation:ProceedingsofaConferenceonWhatWorkstoInfluenceCessationintheGeneralPopulation,SmokingandTobaccoControlMonograph12.NIHPub.00-4892,Nov.2000. NationalInstituteforOccupationalHealthandSafety.EnvironmentalandBiologicalAssessmentofEnvironmentalTobaccoSmokeamongCasinoDealers,May2009. CaliforniaEnvironmentalProtectionAgency.IdentificationofEnvironmentalTobaccoSmokeasaToxicAirContaminant.ExecutiveSummary.June2005. CentersforDiseaseControlandPrevention.ExposuretoSecondhandSmokeAmongNonsmokers—UnitedStates,1988-2014.MorbidityandMortalityWeeklyReport.December7,2018;67(48):1342-6. ZhouW,HeistRS,LiuG,etal.Secondhandsmokeexposureandsurvivalinearly-stagenon-smallcelllungcancerpatients.ClinCancerRes2006;12:7187–93. Eng,etal.Second-HandSmokeAsaPredictorofSmokingCessationAmongLungCancerSurvivors.2014,doi:10.1200/JCO.2013.50.9695 GemineRandLewisK.SmokingCessationwithLungCancer:NotTooLittle,NeverTooLate!EMJRespir.2016;4[1]:86-91. ParsonsA,etal.Influenceofsmokingcessationafterdiagnosisofearlystagelungcanceronprognosis:systematicreviewofobservationalstudieswithmeta-analysis.BMJ2010;340:b5569.doi:10.1136/bmj.b5569 Pagelastupdated:July13,2020 Show ABreathofFreshAirinYourInbox Wantupdatesonthelatestlunghealthnews,includingCOVID-19,research,inspiringstoriesandhealthinformation? Jointhe700,000+peoplegettingouremailupdates! SignUpForNewsletter Pleaseleavethisfieldempty GETUPDATES Pleaseenteravalidemailaddress ABreathofFreshAirinYourInbox YouwillnowreceiveemailupdatesfromtheAmericanLungAssociation. MakeaDonation Yourtax-deductibledonationfundslungdiseaseandlungcancerresearch,newtreatments,lunghealtheducation,andmore. MakeaDonation SignUpforEmailUpdates Joinover700,000peoplewhoreceivethelatestnewsaboutlunghealth,includingCOVID-19,research,airquality,inspiringstoriesandresources. 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