Tobacco Documents Online

Facts About Secondhand Smoke Some of the key facts about secondhand tobacco smoke and its dangers are summarized below. Use them to Inform yout family and friends and to work for smoke free policies in your community. ' General • . , Secondhand smoke is a cause of disease, Including lung canoeir, in healthy nonsmokers. Each year secondhand smoke kills an estimated 3,000 adult nonsmokers from lung ' cancer. Secondhand smoke causes,30 times as many lung cancer deaths as all regulated air pollutants oombined. Secondhand smoke causes other respiratory problems In nonsmokers: coughing, phlegm, chest discomfort, and reduced lung function. For many people, secondhand smoke causes reddening, itching, and watering of the eyes. About eight out of 10 nonsmokers report they are annoyed by others' cigarette smoke. More than 4,000 chemical compoeutds have been identified in tobacco smoke. Of these, at least 43 are lanown to cause caneer in humans or animals. At high exposure levels, nicotine is a potent and potentially lethal poison. Secondhand smoke is the only source of nicotine in the air. Nonsmokers exposed to cigarette smoke have in their body fluids significant amounts of nicotine, carbon monoxide, and other evidence of secondhand smoke. Three out of four nonsmokers have lived with smokers, and nearly half (45 percent) are , worried that secondhand smoke might cause them serious health problems. More than 90 percent of Americans favor restricting or banning smoking in public places. ' ISSUE 39 APPENDIX C US. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES (DC Pubtic H.akh S.wic.

Forty-six states and the District of Columbia in some manner restrict smoking in public places. These laws range from limited prohibitions, such as no smoking on school buses, to comprehensive clean indoor air laws that limit or ban smoking in virtually all public places. 0 Laws restricting smoking in public places have been implemented with few problems and at little cost to stwre and local government. Smoking policies may have multiple benefits. Besides reducing exposure to secondhand smoke, such policies may alter smoking behavior and public attitudes about tobacco use. Over time, these changes may contribute to a significant reduction in U.S. smoking rates. Children Each year, exposure to secondhand smoke causes 150,000 to 300,000 lower respiratory tract infections (such as pneumonia and bronchitis) in U.S. infants and children younger than 18 months of age. These infections result in 7,500 to 15,000 hospitalizations yearly. Chronic cough, wheezing, and phlegm are more frequent in children whose parents smoke. Children exposed to secondhand smoke at home are more likely to have middle-ear disease and reduced lung function. Secondhand smoke increases the number of asthma attacks and the severity of asthma in about 20% of this country's 2 million to 5'million asthmatic children. Each year, U.S. mothers who smoke at least 10 cigarettes a day can actually cause between 8,000 and 26,000 new cases of asthma among their children. . - A recent study found that infants are three times more likely to die from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) if their mothers smoke during and after pregnancy. Infants are twice as likely to die from SIDS if their mothers stop during pregnancy and then resume following birth.

Workplace Workers exposed to secondhand smoke on the job are 34% more likely to get lung cancer. The simple separation of smokers from nonsmokers within the same airspace may reduce, but cannot eliminate, the exposure of nonsmokers to secondhand smoke. There is no safe level of exposure to a cancer-causing substance. Survey responses indicate that at least 4.5 million American workers experience great discomfort from exposure to secondhand smoke. The best method for controlling worker exposure. to secondhand smoke is to eliminate tobacco use from the workplace and implement a smoking oesaation program to support smokers who decide to quit. About 85% of businesses had adopted some form of smoking policies in 199I, up from 36% in 1986. US. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES CIK Pubtic H.a1th Selvia ".o" :OM