What is secondhand smoke? Secondhand smoke (SHS) is also known as environmental tobacco smoke (ETS).

SHS is a mixture of 2 forms of smoke that come from burning tobacco: Sidestream smoke smoke from the lighted end of a cigarette, pipe, or cigar Mainstream smoke the smoke exhaled by a smoker Even though we think of these as the same, they arent. Sidestream smoke has higher concentrations of cancercausing agents (carcinogens) than mainstream smoke. And, it has smaller particles than mainstream smoke, which make their way into the lungs and the bodys cells more easily. When non-smokers are exposed to SHS it is called involuntary smoking or passive smoking. Non-smokers who breathe in SHS take in nicotine and toxic chemicals by the same route smokers do. The more SHS you breathe, the higher the level of these harmful chemicals in your body. Why is secondhand smoke a problem? Secondhand smoke causes cancer Secondhand smoke is classified as a known human carcinogen (cancer-causing agent) by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the US National Toxicology Program, and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a branch of the World Health Organization. Tobacco smoke contains more than 7,000 chemical compounds. More than 250 of these chemicals are known to be harmful, and at least 69 are known to cause cancer. SHS has been linked to lung cancer. There is also some evidence suggesting it may be linked with childhood leukemia and cancers of the larynx (voice box), pharynx (throat), brain, bladder, rectum, stomach, and breast. IARC reported in 2009 that parents who smoked before and during pregnancy were more likely to have a child with hepatoblastoma. This rare cancer is thought to start while the child is still in the uterus. Compared with non-smoking parents, the risk was about twice as high if only one parent smoked, but nearly 5 times higher when both parents smoked. Secondhand smoke and breast cancer Whether SHS increases the risk of breast cancer is an issue thats still being studied. Both mainstream and SHS have about 20 chemicals that, in high concentrations, cause breast cancer in rodents. And we know that in humans, chemicals from tobacco smoke reach breast tissue and are found in breast milk. One reason the link between SHS and breast cancer risk in human studies is uncertain is because breast cancer risk has not been shown to be increased in active smokers. One possible explanation for this is that tobacco smoke might have different effects on breast cancer risk in smokers and in those who are exposed to SHS.

A report from the California Environmental Protection Agency in 2005 concluded that the evidence regarding SHS and breast cancer is consistent with a causal association in younger women. This means the SHS acts as if it could be a cause of breast cancer in these women. The 2006 US Surgeon Generals report, The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke, sums it up by saying that there is suggestive but not sufficient evidence of a link. Research is still being done, but women should be told that this possible link to breast cancer is yet another reason to avoid being around SHS. Secondhand smoke causes other kinds of diseases and death Secondhand smoke can cause harm in many ways. Each year in the United States alone, it is responsible for: An estimated 46,000 deaths from heart disease in people who are current non-smokers About 3,400 lung cancer deaths in non-smoking adults Worse asthma and asthma-related problems in up to 1 million asthmatic children Between 150,000 and 300,000 lower respiratory tract infections (lung and bronchus) in children under 18 months of age, with 7,500 to 15,000 hospitalizations each year Children exposed to secondhand smoke are much more likely to be put into intensive care when they have the flu, they are in the hospital longer, and are more likely to need breathing tubes than kids who arent exposed to SHS In the United States, the costs of extra medical care, illness, and death caused by SHS are over $10 billion per year Surgeon Generals reports: Findings on smoking, secondhand smoke, and health Since 1964, 34 separate US Surgeon Generals reports have been written to make the public aware of the health issues linked to tobacco and SHS. The ongoing research used in these reports still supports the fact that tobacco and SHS are linked to serious health problems that could be prevented. The reports have highlighted many important findings on SHS, such as: SHS kills children and adults who dont smoke. SHS causes disease in children and in adults who dont smoke. Exposure to SHS while pregnant increases the chance that a woman will have a spontaneous abortion, stillborn birth, low birth-weight baby, and other pregnancy and delivery problems. Babies and children exposed to SHS are at an increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), acute respiratory infections, ear infections, and more severe and frequent asthma attacks. Smoking by parents can cause wheezing, coughing, bronchitis, and pneumonia, and slow lung growth in their children.

SHS immediately affects the heart, blood vessels, and blood circulation in a harmful way. Over time it can cause heart disease, strokes, and heart attacks. SHS causes lung cancer in people who have never smoked. Even brief exposure can damage cells in ways that set the cancer process in motion. Chemicals in tobacco smoke damage sperm which might reduce fertility and harm fetal development. SHS is known to damage sperm in animals, but more studies are needed to find out its effects in humans. There is no safe level of exposure to SHS. Any exposure is harmful. Many millions of Americans, both children and adults, are still exposed to SHS in their homes and workplaces despite a great deal of progress in tobacco control. On average, children are exposed to more SHS than non-smoking adults. The only way to fully protect non-smokers from exposure to SHS indoors is to prevent all smoking in that indoor space or building. Separating smokers from non-smokers, cleaning the air, and ventilating buildings cannot keep non-smokers from being exposed to SHS

http://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancercauses/tobaccocancer/secondhand-smoke