Facts About Passive Smoking

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By Sandra Ketcham
eHow Contributing Writer

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Passive smoking is the inhalation of secondhand smoke. Research shows that passive smoking may have serious ill health effects, including heart disease and cancer. Those most at risk for secondhand smoke exposure include the children and spouses of smokers. Many public places now ban smoking to reduce the incidence of passive smoking.

Significance

Passive smoking is responsible for nearly 3,000 cases of terminal lung cancer in American nonsmokers each year. Because of this fact, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency classifies secondhand smoke as a Group A carcinogen.

Infants and Passive Smoking

According to the National Institutes of Health, secondhand smoke is associated with around 300,000 cases of pneumonia and bronchitis in infants and toddlers every year.

Children and Passive Smoking

A child who is exposed to passive smoking is at an increased risk of coughing, wheezing, middle ear infections and asthma.

Considerations

The California Environmental Protection Agency states that young, pre-menopausal women have a 70 percent greater risk of developing breast cancer when exposed to secondhand smoke.

Warning

According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer, smoke entering the environment from the lit end of a cigarette contains 4,000 chemicals, 69 of which are known carcinogens.