Second Hand Smoke

The American anti-smoking crusade has been very successful especially over the last decade. With many people trying to live healthy with diet and exercise many smokers have kicked the habit to live a healthier lifestyle. There are now about as many ex-smokers in America as there are smokers. But, even after thirty years of consistent urging to quit because of the studies of the dangers of smoking about one fourth of the population still chooses to light up. (4. Repace JL)

America pretty much from the start has always had the live and let live attitude towards things. We usually let people do what they want, even if they are hurting themselves, as long as they are not hurting anyone else around them. The only time we step in is when some unwilling bystander is being harmed. This leaves the door open to smokers who smoke in front of their children or any other unwilling individual in public places.

You probably already know that cigarette smoke clings to your clothes and hair, and the smell lingers in a room or car long after a cigarette has been put out. But over the years a lot of people have continue to ignore that second hand smoke is much more than an inconvenience or irritation to non-smokers. It is a public health hazard. In 1986 the U.S. Surgeon General stated that second-hand smoke can cause serious problems and disease for nonsmokers. In 1992 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency classified second-hand smoke as a "Group A" cancer causing agent, which means that it not only causes cancer, but it is one of the most dangerous indoor pollutants we are exposed to in our day-to-day lives. The EPA, Surgeon General, and U.S. National Research Council have all concluded that second-hand smoke causes lung cancer in nonsmokers and that the children of parents who smoke have an increased frequency to have symptoms of respiratory problems and lower respiratory tract infections, as well as evidence of reduced lung function. So, for over the last 12 years these facts have led to a growing concern for the health of the individuals not addicted to tobacco, but towards nonsmokers exposed to second-hand smoke. (1. www.epa.gov)

So, what is second hand smoke and why is it such a dangerous health hazard to nonsmokers? Well, first of all cigarette smoke contains a deadly mixture of carbon monoxide, nicotine, and more than 4,000 other chemical. Many of these chemicals can cause cancer and heart disease. According to the EPA their definition of secondhand smoke is " a mixture of the smoke given off by the burning end of a cigarette, pipe, or cigar, and the smoke exhaled from the lungs of smokers." Secondhand smoke can also be called environmental tobacco smoke(ETS). Being exposed to secondhand smoke can be called involuntary smoking or passive smoking. (1. www.epa.gov) In the year 2000 the National Institutes of Health actually listed secondhand smoke as a human carcinogen. There are actually two different kinds of secondhand smoke: side stream smoke, which is smoke coming from the burning cigarette; and mainstream smoke, which is the smoke the smoker exhales. Both types of smoke contain harmful materials of the over 4000 chemicals found in cigarettes and about 60 of the 4000 fumes are cancer causing agents. (4. Repace JL, Lowrey AH)

Secondhand smoke is the third ranking known cause of lung cancer after actively smoking and being exposed to indoor radon. Exposure to secondhand smoke during your adult life can increase the risk of lung cancer in non smokers. Lung cancer now kills more woman than breast cancer, and is the second leading cause of premature death among men. In the 1992 EPA report it confirmed that second hand smoke causes 3000 deaths annually in the United States. The statistics on lung cancer is that between men and women if you combine colon, prostate, and breast cancer together lung cancer still kills more men and women every year. From the mid 1990's lung cancer has claimed the lives of more than 150,000 Americans each year. Its really a shame because most of these deaths could have been prevented because smoking accounted for 85 to 90 percent of all lung cancer cases. The more you decrease smoking the more you reduce your chances of having lung cancer. Prevention is very important in lung cancer because even if you have been smoking for years quitting smoking greatly reduces your chances of obtaining lung cancer. Most of the time lung cancer is caught in its later stages where as the recovery rate is a minimum and there is a great chance that you will lose your life. (1. www.epa.gov)

Also, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency secondhand smoking has been linked to the increased risk of death from heart disease. In a 1999 report on heart disease it stated that secondhand smoke is associated with up to 62,000 deaths of something called ischemic heart disease. Ischemic heart disease is caused by the narrowing of the blood vessels that leads the way to the heart. Secondhand smoke causes increased cardiovascular risks by causing damage to blood vessels. This decreases your ability to alter blood cholesterol levels and it also decreases your ability to exercise. (3. Gridding SS)

One of the most heartbreaking things about second hand smoke is that it is harmful towards children. In 1994 the U.S. Surgeon General put out a report stating that second hand smoke harms children. Children who breathe in second hand smoke have more ear infections, more severe asthma attacks and more breathing problems than children that live in smoke free homes. When parents allow themselves to smoke around their children they have no way of protecting themselves from the exposure to second hand smoke and the effects of it. In the Surgeon General's report it also discusses the increased rate of neonatal and infant mortality rates for the kids in which the parents smoke or is exposed to second hand smoke. There is hard evidence that support that the exposure to second hand smoke in childhood is associated with the increased probability of developing asthma. The EPA has found that exposure to second hand smoke increases their chances of having more asthma attacks and have more severe attacks in from upward of 200,000 and 1,000,000 children with asthma. Also, second hand smoke is a risk factor in new cases of asthma in children that did not have asthma before being exposed to second hand smoke. Exposure to second hand smoke represents a serious pediatric health concern which has been estimated to double the risk of infection and death in children. (2. Ezra DB)

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency states that the developing lungs of young children are especially at risk from secondhand smoke because younger children's breathing rate is much faster than that of an adult. This makes them have a much larger risk of developing problems of second