Secondhand Smoke and Respiratory Diseases, Passive Smoking
Secondhand smoke - passive smoking - is the smoke inhaled by non-smokers by force, and has two sources: (1) smoke due to smoking smokers (2) smoke produced by burning of the cigarette, or tobacco for shisha. Second-hand smoke contains more than 4000 harmful chemicals, including some 200 toxic, carcinogenic, and 60 causing cancers. The damage to a non-smoker as a result of passive smoke is similar to that of the smoker himself, that is to say that a non-smoker is exposed to all diseases and risks of the smoker, with varying degrees
Secondhand Smoke and Respiratory Diseases, Passive smoking
To clarify the extent of damage inflicted on non-smoker due to exposure to passive smoke, it is enough to know that smoking one cigarette needs 8-9 times inhalations and exhalations in about 24 seconds while a cigarette itself - when left after lighting - would take about 12 minutes to burn completely.
Secondhand Smoke, Passive Smoking: Now If we know that the nicotine and tar content in the smoke in the latter case, is twice that in the exhaled breath of smokers,then we can imagine how much damage it does to the non-smoker as a result of passive smoking!! We must not miss the problem of the smoker himself; in fact he has two problems, as beside smoking cigarettes, he also inhales secondhand smoke, which looks like a suicide!!!
Secondhand Smoke and Respiratory Diseases, Passive smoking
Health effects of secondhand smoke on children: Passive smoking causes the death of a non-smoker one out of every 8 smokers, besides, smoking parents would causes an increase in the probabilities for the children to become smokers, to double the non-smokers. Passive smoke is very harmful to children, in particular, by causing injury to tens of thousands of them suffering of respiratory disease
What is third-hand smoke?
Third-hand smoke is a new name for an old problem – the toxic chemicals in smoke that stick around even after the smoker has put out the cigarette, cigar, or pipe. Third-hand smoke gets trapped in hair, skin, fabric, carpet, furniture, and toys. It builds up over time. Each time someone smokes, more smoke gets trapped in the fabric, furniture, walls, and other things around them. The chemicals from the trapped smoke pollute the air and get into people's lungs and bodies.
If you are in a room or car where people usually smoke, even if they aren't smoking right then, you are exposed to third-hand smoke. This means you are exposed to toxic chemicals like lead and arsenic.
Third-hand smoke also gets into household dust, which babies swallow when they put their hands in their mouths. Babies take in more third-hand smoke chemicals because they breathe more quickly and because they spend more time on the floor. Babies can take in 20 times more third-hand smoke than adult
Secondhand Smoke and Respiratory Diseases, Passive smoking
Why children especially at risk from secondhand and third-hand smoke?
Babies and children are especially vulnerable to second - and third - hand smoke because:
They have faster breathing rate: they breathe in more air relative to their body weight, which means they absorb more smoke
Their immune systems are less developed
They have less power and they're less able to complain about being around smoke
They are less able to leave smoky places by them
Secondhand Smoke and Respiratory Diseases, Passive smoking
Low Birth Weight:
Secondhand smoke - passive smoking - is a known preventable cause of low birth weight, which contributes to infant mortality and health complications into adulthood. Secondhand smoke exposure reduces the birth weight of infants of nonsmoking mothers and contributes to more reductions in birth weight among babies of smoking mothers
Nonsmoking pregnant women who are exposed to secondhand smoke tend to give birth to infants who have a reduced mean birth weight of 33g or more. Secondhand smoke exposure also increases the risk of a birth weight below 2,500g by 22 percent.
Secondhand Smoke and Respiratory Diseases, Passive smoking
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS):
Maternal smoking is the strongest risk factor leading to SIDS
Infants who die from SIDS tend to have higher concentrations of nicotine in their lungs than do control children, regardless of whether smoking is reported.
Cognitive Impairments:
Secondhand smoke - passive smoking - exposure impairs a child's ability to learn. It is neurotoxic even at extremely low levels. More than 21.9 million children are estimated to be at risk of reading deficits because of secondhand smoke. Higher levels of exposure to secondhand smoke are also associated with greater deficits in math and visuospatial reasoning.
The offspring of mothers who smoke one pack of cigarettes per day during pregnancy have an IQ score that is, on average, 2.87 points lower than children born to nonsmoking mothers.
Secondhand Smoke and Respiratory Diseases, Passive smoking
Behavioral Problems:
Children born to women nonsmokers who are exposed to secondhand smoke during pregnancy and to women who smoked during pregnancy are more likely to suffer from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and conduct disorder.
Girls are exposed to higher rates of secondhand smoke than boys, but boys have greater problems with hyperactivity, aggression, depression, and other behavioral problems.
Respiratory Problems:
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has reported that secondhand smoke exposure increases the risk of lower respiratory tract infections such as bronchitis and pneumonia. The EPA estimates that between 150,000 and 300,000 annual cases of lower respiratory tract infections in infants and young children up to 18 months of age are attributable to secondhand smoke exposure. Of these cases, between 7,500 and 15,000 result in hospitalization.
Infants whose mothers smoke are 50 percent more likely to be hospitalized with a respiratory infection during their first year when compared to infants with nonsmoking mothers. Infants whose mothers smoke in the same room have a 56 percent higher risk of being hospitalized compared to infants whose mothers smoke in a separate room. There is a 73 percent higher risk if mothers smoke while holding their infants and a 95 percent higher risk if mothers smoke while feeding their infants.
Early exposure to cigarette smoke is a likely significant independent risk factor for later respiratory disease. It is likely that in utero damage is compounded by increased susceptibility to the effects of continued postnatal secondhand smoke exposure.
Secondhand Smoke and Respiratory Diseases, Passive smoking
Asthma:
Asthma attacks are perhaps the most well-known health effect of secondhand smoke exposure among children. Secondhand smoke exposure increases the frequency of episodes and the severity of symptoms in asthmatic children. The EPA estimates that 200,000 to 1,000,000 asthmatic children have their condition worsened by exposure to secondhand smoke.
Secondhand smoke exposure is associated with increased respiratory-related school absenteeism among children, especially those with asthma.
Maternal and grand maternal smoking may increase the risk of childhood asthma. Relative to children of never-smokers, children whose mothers smoked throughout the pregnancy have a higher risk of asthma in the first five years of life. Children whose mothers quit smoking prior to the pregnancy show no increased risk.
Secondhand smoke exposure causes children who already have asthma to experience more frequent and severe attacks.
Maternal smoking, in utero and later, is much related to lifetime wheezing in offspring.
Secondhand Smoke and Respiratory Diseases, Passive smoking
Secondhand Smoke, Passive Smoking: like active smoke is very harmful for a pregnant woman and fetus: the fetus is affected by the parent directly to inhale the smoke, and the consequent abort the fetus. Or premature birth, before the completion of the growth of the lungs. Hinder the access of oxygen and food necessary for growth of the fetus result of the coexistence of carbon monoxide and nicotine in the blood.
Secondhand smoke, passive smoking:The birth of a child a small size and weight, which is usually susceptible to health problems in need of special care and stay in hospital for longer periods, with the prospect of death during childbirth, or during the first year. Cause the mother to smoke inhalation during pregnancy (whether positive or negative) in risk the suffering of the child after the birth of a slow learning, and reduced levels of intelligence.
