Passive Smoking Effects

You must be aware of the hazards of cigarette smoking, and hence, must be keeping away from it. But, do you know that passive smoking is equally deleterious to us? Let us get to know more on passive smoking.

Passive Smoking
Passive smoking is the involuntary inhalation of the smoke from cigarettes or tobacco that is being smoked by others. This smoke is known as secondhand smoke (SHS). Passive smoking, also known as involuntary smoking, occurs when cigarette smoke spreads in the air and is inhaled by people who are present in the same environment. All over the world, it has been found that passive smoking is as injurious to health as the actual smoking itself.

Most of the times, passive smokers are the ones who live with smokers, and hence, are regularly exposed to tobacco smoke. On the other hand, a non-smoker can also get exposed to tobacco smoke while working in a smoky atmosphere or simply by being in a smoke-filled restaurant or bar. In either of the cases, non-smokers have high chances of passive smoking which is hazardous to their health. Let us have a look at the effects of passive smoking.

Passive Smoking Effects in Adults
As mentioned above, passive smoking can cause dangerous health effects. The following are minor side effects of passive smoking:

• Cough
• Sore throat
• Irritation of eyes
• Headache
• Nausea
• Infection in nose / ear

Apart from these, there are several other long term passive smoking effects which can lead to disability or even death. They include:

• Lung cancer
• Asthma
• Pneumonia
• Bronchitis
• Tuberculosis
• Hypertension

Some diseases are not directly caused due to passive smoking. But if a person continues being exposed to passive smoke for a long time, he has an increased risk of suffering from the following diseases:

• Heart diseases
• Diseases of the circulatory system
• Dementia
• Renal cell carcinoma
• Brain tumor

Passive Smoking Effects in Children
Passive smoking is more hazardous to children than to adults. As the immune system of children is very weak, they are at a higher risk of suffering from diseases. Passive smoking effects in children include:

• Asthma
• Bronchitis
• Pneumonia
• Allergy
• Infection in lungs / ear / throat

Passive Smoking Effects in Fetus
You may have heard that pregnant or expectant mothers are advised to quit smoking as it causes harm to the fetus. Passive smoking dangers in fetus include:

• Risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)
• Premature birth
• Low birth weight
• Low production of milk (in mothers)

Prevention of Passive Smoking

As we have seen the numerous passive smoking effects, one should be equally careful about it, the sane way as one is aware of cigarette smoking. Smoking is banned in most of the parts of the world. In other parts, it is banned in enclosed places like restaurants, theaters, or other public places, in order to avoid the risks of passive smoking. On the other hand, smokers can help a lot for the prevention of passive smoking. Smokers should never smoke at home or in cars. This should be strictly followed especially if there are children at home. Although, it is always better to stop smoking, but if smokers cannot overcome smoking, they should do it outdoors, in open places. This way, the risk of passive smoking can be greatly reduced.