Second-Hand Smoke

More than 1,000 non-smokers will die this year in Canada due to tobacco use – over 300 lung cancer deaths and at least 700 deaths from coronary heart disease will be caused by second-hand smoke.

• Second-hand smoke is a combination of poisonous gases, liquids, and breathable particles that are harmful to our health.
• Second-hand smoke consists of mainstream smoke, the smoke inhaled and exhaled by the smoker, and sidestream smoke, the smoke released directly from the end of a burning cigarette.
• Second-hand smoke contains over 4,000 chemical compounds, 50 of which are associated with, or known to cause cancer.
• Two thirds of the smoke from a burning cigarette is not inhaled by the smoker but enters into the surrounding environment. The contaminated air is inhaled by anyone in that area.
• The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has officially labeled second-hand smoke as a ‘Class A' cancer-causing substance. Class A is considered the most dangerous of cancer agents and there is no known safe level of exposure.
• Second-hand smoke has twice as much nicotine and tar as the smoke that smokers inhale. It also has five times the carbon monoxide, which decreases the amount of oxygen in our blood.

My home is smoke-free. My car is smoke-free. If someone wants to light up, I ask them to go outside, or if we are traveling, I will stop. You do not need to suffer through someone else's addiction.

Sources: Health Canada, U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare

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>> Secondary Benefits of Quitting Smoking

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>> Second-Hand Smoke Facts

>> Controlling Second-Hand Smoke