Secondhand smoke (also called environmental tobacco smoke) is the combination of sidestream smoke (the smoke given off by the burning end of a tobacco product) and mainstream smoke (the smoke exhaled by the smoker). Exposure to secondhand smoke is also called involuntary smoking or passive smoking. People are exposed to secondhand smoke in homes, cars, the workplace, and public places such as bars, restaurants, and other recreation settings. What chemicals from a cigarette can be inhaled by a passive smoker, how harmful are these chemicals and what is being done to reduce nonsmokers’ exposure to secondhand smoke?
Passive smoking (also known as 'secondhand smoking')is the redundant inhalation of the smoke from a nearby cigarette. It is called 'passive' because we do not choose to inhail the smoke. (quote)
ReplyDelete"Scientific studies show that there can be around 4000 chemicals in cigarette smoke. They can be breathed in by anyone near a smoker. They can also stick to clothes, hair, skin, walls and furniture.
Try wiping a clean cloth on a window near where someone has been smoking and you will see what you could be breathing in!"
Only SOME of the chemicals in cigarettes are:
- Tar - which has many chemicals in it some of which cause cancer.
- Carbon monoxide - reduces the oxygen in blood -so people can develop heart disease and lung cancer (the amount of carbon monoxide is not enough to cause any immediate effects in passive smokers (such as feeling tired), but over a long time the effects can worsen heart disease).
- Poisons - including arsenic, ammonia and cyanide."
Dr Kate (no further recerence given to 'Dr Kate'...) says:
"If you are near smokers, you are smoking too. Help your family to work out how to have a smoke free home. If you live in South Australia, see if your school has copies of the 'Smoke free home and car' booklet, which can give you ideas about how to change smoking habits in your home."
"What the law now says about smoking:
- In most countries there are now warnings on cigarette packets about the dangers of smoking.
- Most public places are no smoking areas.
- Many countries have organisations like QUIT which will help people to give up smoking.
- Cigarette advertising is no longer allowed in many parts of the world.
- Many schools run anti smoking programs.
- There are anti smoking advertisements on TV and in newspapers.
- You have to be 18 years old to buy cigarettes in many countries."
>2007, GSA, SAC. Viewed 23rd May, 2009:
http://www.cyh.com/HealthTopics/HealthTopicDetailsKids.aspx?p=335&np=285&id=1606#1<
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ReplyDeletePart A
ReplyDeleteWhen a person smokes only 15% is inhaled by the smoker while the other 85% goes directly into the air as second hand smoke. Second hand smoke is a combination of mainstream smoke exhaled by smokers and side stream smoke emitted from the cigarette between puffs.
There are over 4000 chemicals in second hand smoke. A few dangerous ones are Tar, acetone, cyanide, DDT , carbon monoxide, ammonia, formaldehyde, arsenic and hydrogen cyanide.
Some of the carcinogens that occur in second-hand smoke include benzene, 1,3-butadiene, benzo[a]pyrene, 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone and many others .
The effects of second hand smoking are deadly. Some of the immediate effects can be irritation to the eyes, cough, headache, dizziness and nausea.
Some of the long term effects can include:
•Stroke – increased risk of stroke by 82%.
•Lung cancer -20% increased risk of developing lung cancer.
•Heart disease - 23 % increased risk of developing heart disease when living with a smoker. As little as five minutes of exposure to second-hand smoke can stiffen the aorta, making the heart work harder to pump blood.
•Respiratory illnesses - 40-60 % increased risk of asthma in adults.
•Childhood illness – increased risk of middle ear disease, worsening of asthmatic symptoms and reduced lung growth.
Regulatory measures to check passive smoking:
Across the globe, regulatory measures have been put into place to reduce the menace of passive smoking. These range from educating the masses about its dangerous effects to ban on smoking in public areas. The legislations in Queensland, Australia (www. health.qld.gov.au ) are:
•Smoking banned in workplaces, enclosed public places as well as various other public areas since 1 January 2005 under the Tobacco and Other Smoking Products Amendment Act 2004 (QLD).
•Smoking banned in any enclosed licensed premises in all indoor and outdoor areas (with some exceptions) under the Act since 1 July 2006.
Part A
ReplyDeletePassive Smoking is breathing in the tobacco smoke from someone else who is smoking a cigarette. Anyone who doesn’t smoke cigarettes can be effected if they live or are in places where there is cigarette smoke. Cigarette smoke is also called tobacco smoke. Tobacco smoke contains nearly 4,000 chemicals.
Health issues in passive smoking are very similar to the health issues that you might have a risk of getting when you smoke cigarettes. Heart disease, lung cancer and irritation to the eyes can be caused in adults side effects. Children have many side effects and some of them are sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS or cot death), lung and airway infections and many more side effects to do with the lung, heart, ear and eyes.
There are more than 50 cancer causing chemicals in passive smoking. If you are a non smoker around other smokers at home or at work you risk in the chance of getting lung cancer by 20 to 30 per cent. Unborn babies whose mother smoked when she was pregnant or when they are infants have a very high risk of SIDS/cot death and lower birth weight.
From 1998 through to 1999 there were 224 deaths from passive smoking in the home. 103 were under the age of 15 and 121 were 15 years and older.
Over the past 20 years public support and demand have increased the number of smoke free public and work spaces. 89% of Australians support smoke free dining, 87% support smoke free workplaces and many more Australians have voted on different areas they believe should be smoke free. In 2004 the cancer council held a survey. This survey found out that two in five people avoided places where smokers were. This survey also found out that 20% of the people surveyed changed their smoking habits because they found out what they were doing to other people around them.
PART A
ReplyDeletePassive smoking is defined as the involuntary inhalation of smoke from tobacco products. Scientific research has been done, and it proves that second hand smoking can lead to disease, disability and even death. Passive smoking causes heart disease, lung cancer, breast cancer, bronchitis and asthma attacks.
The smoke from tobacco contains more than 4000 substances or chemicals that are made up of gases and particles which, when inhaled, can be absorbed into the body.
11 of these substances are proven to cause cancer to humans and 49 cause cancer in animals but not yet proven for humans.
Some of these I shall list:
1. Cadmium and Nickel – used in batteries and known to cause lung cancer.
2. Nicotine – addictive drug as powerful as cocaine or heroin.
3. Tar – used to tarmac roads.
4. Carbon monoxide – gas that replaces oxygen in the body. Found in car exhaust fumes.
5. Arsenic – Potent deadly poison.
Local or state governments in Australia have prohibited smoking in public facilities such as schools, hospitals, airports, restaurants, bars and bus terminals.
Smoking has also been banned in transport facilities like flights, trains and buses.
The government of Australia is also passing ads in between the most popular shows on TV, to allow smokers to realise that their not only putting their life in danger but their families as well.
In conclusion, YES second hand smoking is just as unhealthy as normal smoking. In fact it is even more dangerous.
Part A
ReplyDeleteSecond-Hand Smoking (Passive Smoking) is more harmful to non-smokers than smokers because their bodies are immune to the smoke yet non-smokers are not immune to the smoke, as most people have pointed out. Some ingredients that people missed out on in cigarettes are; Ammonia (household cleaner), Benzene (Used in making dyes, synthetic rubber), Cadmium (Used in batteries), Formaldehiyde (Used to preserve dead specimens), Methyl Isocyanate (Its accidental release killed 2000 people in Bhopal, India in 1984), one of the coolest names of these ingredients is probably, Megastigmatrienone, which is a chemical naturally found in grapefruit juice.
In South Australia smoking is banned in indoor dining areas and enclosed public spaces. In Western Australia, enclosed public spaces are a smoking free zone. In Tasmania, indoor smoking and smoking in cars with passengers under 18 years of age is banned. In Queensland, smoking is prohibited in all pubs, clubs, restaurants and workplaces, commercial outdoor eating and drinking areas, outdoor public places, and within 4 meters of non-residential building entrances. Australian Capital Territory: A ban on smoking in enclosed public places has been in effect since December 2006. Victoria: A ban on smoking in enclosed public places has been in effect since July 2007. New South Wales: A ban on smoking in all enclosed areas of restaurants, licensed clubs and pubs came into force in July 2007. In July 2008 the government announced plans to introduce new legislation that will prohibit smoking in private cars that carry children less than 16 years old. Northern Territory: The Territory government has announced its long awaited timeframe for banning smoking inside clubs and pubs, saying new restrictions will come into place from the start of 2010.
(AFK)
(cont.)
ReplyDeleteFizza (May 23, 2009 6:54 PM) said that, (Quote) "The effects of second hand smoking are deadly. Some of the immediate effects can be irritation to the eyes, cough, headache, dizziness and nausea". This is correct, but trouble with breathing can also occur.
As there is not much to agree and disagree on, all these posts are correct, but I think that smoking should be banned in total. It’s a danger to the environment, animals and humans.
PART B
ReplyDeleteI agree with what Beliz (May 24, 2009 12:04 am), Jessica (May 23, 2009 8:42 pm) and Fizza (May 23, 2009 6:54 pm) said. They said that passive smoking is worse than active smoking (smoking yourself). I have found out that through passive smoking you can inhale
• Tar
• Carbon Monoxide
• Poisons
If you are a passive smoker you will usually have sore eyes, throat, nose, lungs and you may cough a lot. This is why even being around a smoker is bad for your health.
Part B
ReplyDeleteI agree with all of the blogs and I would just like to add on to what Josh Cook (May 26, 2009 9:03 pm) the main ingredient in cigarettes that kills animals and damages the environment is tobacco as birds, fish and other animals find little bit of tobacco on the ground and will eat it that makes them very sick and are very likely to die. Smoking also uses 1 tree for 300 cigarettes and when people smoke the thousands of chemicals that are in cigarettes go into the air and pollutes the environment. Also tobacco has 4, 000 deadly chemicals. Tobacco isn’t actually found in cigarettes it is pesticides (an early growing stage of tobacco). This chemical (when we breathe it out) pollutes the waterways and poisons livestock and crops. Cigarette buts can also hurt animals that have eaten it. http://www.nexplanrecycling.com/tobacco.html
Part B
ReplyDeleteWhen I read Josh's Blog (May 26, 2009 9:03 PM) I was wondering why would they have different laws in each state and territory? Although the Australian Government has made some attempt (as Beliz said, May 24, 2009 12:04 AM) why isn't every state and territory the same? How come the Northern Territory's laws are so slack when all this evidence suggests that smoking and passive smoking is so dangerous? Another thing was that the law that people can not smoke in the car with under 16 or 18 years old should be a really important one, as the children have no power over their parents and they should be protected.
Part B
ReplyDeleteI disagree with Karl as he says that tobacco is what is killing the animals since tobacco is a plant grown to be dried and processed with the other chemicals to make cigarettes and cigars. It is actually the chemicals inside the burnt cigarette ash that are discarded from cigarettes onto the ground that kill birds and fish.
Part B – I agree with Fizza Mitter’s post , but I disagree with one part because she said that 85% of the tobacco smoke is inhaled by the passive smoker. The passive smoker (or second hand smoke) only inhales about 1/100th of the tobacco smoke; however the risk is almost as bad. Passive smokers are 30% more at risk of coronary heart disease than normal people who don’t smoke and are not passive smokers. (Quote) “…their excess risk is almost 40% as high as the excess risk to the smokers themselves.”
ReplyDelete