Effects of Secondhand Smoke

The loss of my grandmother was the saddest day of my life. My grandmother never smoked a cigarette in her life. She died of heart disease in 1997. Ironically the heart disease was diagnosed as a result of secondhand smoke. My grandparents were married for over fifty years. Even now I still can hear my grandmother saying “Robert you need to put those cigarettes down before they kill you.” Robert, my grandfather, was a smoker for sixty years. My grandfather would answer back “Well we have to die from something.” After my grandmother died, my grandfather lived another twelve years and he died of a heart attack. Every smoker understands that smoking is harmful to their health. Do nonsmokers know the hazardous of secondhand smoke? The loss of my grandmother elevated my interest in the effects of secondhand smoke; which have become an epidemic in the United States. A study from the surgeon general says 126 million nonsmoking Americans are exposed to secondhand smoke each year (Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention, 2006, para 2). More than 49,000 nonsmokers die each year (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2008, para 3).
Toxic Chemicals Secondhand smoke contains 7000 chemicals; more than 70 of which are known to cause cancer (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2013, para 1). Hundreds of these chemicals are toxic. Hydrogen cyanide is a poisonous gas used in chemical weapons and pest control; benzene is a component of gasoline; and carbon monoxide, a poisonous gas found in car exhaust, are a few of the toxins found in secondhand smoke. People can be exposed to secondhand smoke in homes, cars, the workplace, and public places; such as bars, restaurants, and recreational settings. If a nonsmoker inhales smoke from the end of a lit cigarette, cigar, or pipe they are inhaling the same amount of chemicals as the smoker. The average person exposed to secondhand smoke is not aware of their exposure to these dangerous chemicals.

References: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2008). Smoking-Attributable Mortality, Years of Potential Life Lost, and Productivity Losses --- United States, 2000--2004: Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention. (2006). Secondhand Smoke. Retrieved from http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/reports/secondhandsmoke/index.html Enviornmental Protection Agency. (1993). Health Effects of Exposure to Secondhand Smoke. Retrieved from http://www.epa.gov/smokefre/healtheffects.html Oberg, M., Jaakkola, MS., Woodward, A., Peruga, A., Prüss-Ustün, A. (2011). Worldwide Burden of Disease from Exposure to Second-Hand Smoke