Children and other non smokers are affected by Second hand smoke which may increase the risks of cancers, Pulmonary complications, Heart diseases, Pregnancy complications, etc. among them.
2. INTRODUCTION
Four
out of ten nonsmokers (40%) are
exposed to secondhand smoke.
More than 1 out of 2 kids (aged 3–11
years) are exposed to secondhand smoke.
There are about 1.3 billion cigarette
smokers worldwide and this number is
still increasing.
About 1 in 5 adults smoke.
Tobacco use is the leading preventable
cause of death.
3.
4. SECOND-HAND SMOKE
Nonsmokers inhale mostly sidestream (SS) smoke.
The 'side-stream' smoke that comes off a cigarette
between puffs, carries a higher risk than directly
inhaled smoke.
Second-hand smoke is a mixture of sidestream smoke
and the smoke exhaled from the lungs of smokers.
It is involuntarily inhaled, lingers in the air for hours
after cigarettes have been extinguished.
Second hand smoke may cause a wide range of
adverse health effects, including:
Cancer (Increased lung cancer risk (by 20–30%))
Asthma
Respiratory infections
Reduced lung growth in children
Reductions in postnatal pulmonary function
Increased heart disease risk (by 25–30%)
Chronic otitis media
5.
6. CANCER
Second-hand smoke has been estimated to cause
38,000 deaths per year, of which 3,400 are deaths
from lung cancer in non-smokers.
For adults, passive smoking seems to increase
the risk of lung cancer.
Sidestream smoke has higher concentrations of
cancer-causing agents (carcinogens) than
mainstream smoke.
7. PULMONARY
COMPLICATIONS
Children who grow up in a home where one or
both of their parents smoke have twice the risk of
getting asthma and asthmatic bronchitis.
Children also have a higher risk of developing
allergies.
Infants under two years old are more prone to
severe and cot death (SIDS).
Exposure to environmental smoke causes
reduced lung growth in children.
Second hand smoke results in to reductions in
postnatal pulmonary function.
8.
9. HEART DISEASE RISK
The current US Surgeon General’s Report
concludes that:
Short exposures to second-hand smoke
Blood platelets to become stickier
Damage the lining of blood vessels
Decrease coronary flow velocity reserves
Reduce heart rate variability
Increased risk of heart attack
10.
11. PREGNANCY
COMPLICATIONS
Cigarette smoking
Fetal exposure to carbon monoxide and nicotine
Increased risk of abruptio placentae, placenta previa, and premature
rupture of the membranes and ectopic pregnancy
Preterm
smokers.
delivery, low birth weight, are also more likely among
Women
who smoke should quit smoking or at least reduce the
number of cigarettes smoked per day to as few as possible.
Pregnant
women should also avoid exposure to environmental
smoke ("passive smoking") and smokeless tobacco.
12.
13. CONCLUSION
Environmental tobacco poisoning, either second or third
hand, dramatically increases pulmonary morbidity.
Smoking family members should be advised to quit
smoking and do everything possible to minimize
environmental smoke exposure to the children around
them.
14. REFERENCES
CURRENT Diagnosis & Treatment: Pediatrics, 21e
William W. Hay, Jr., Myron J. Levin, Robin R. Deterding,
Mark J. Abzug, Judith M. Sondheimer
Harrison's Online
Featuring the complete contents of Harrison's Principles of
Internal Medicine, 18e
Dan L. Longo, Anthony S. Fauci, Dennis L. Kasper, Stephen
L. Hauser, J. Larry Jameson, Joseph Loscalzo, Eds.
Hurst's The Heart, 13e
Valentin Fuster, Richard A. Walsh, Robert A. Harrington
CURRENT Medical Diagnosis & Treatment 2013
Maxine A. Papadakis, Stephen J. McPhee, Eds.
Michael W. Rabow, Associate Ed.
Behavioral Medicine: A Guide for Clinical Practice, 3e
Mitchell D. Feldman, John F. Christensen