Second Hand Smoke!

Second hand smoke is a term we have all heard of. This is the smoke that us non-smokers get to breath when we hang around smokers. It’s also known as passive smoke or involuntary smoke. We’ve all heard bad things about it, but is it really that big a deal? Considering that tobacco is made up of over 4000 compounds and 60 of these are suspected to cause cancer…I would say that it’s a pretty big deal.

Second hand smoke is linked to heart disease, reduced lung function, lung infections and increased severity for asthma. Over 750,000 middle ear infections in children are also blamed on second hand smoke. Non-smokers that choose to not smoke in order to be healthy and live longer, are having their lives shortened by the bad habits of others.

It has been estimated that 46,000 non-smokers die each year from smoke related heart disease that live with smokers. I myself am a non-smoker that lives in a household with three smokers. These are real concerns for me especially since I also have asthma. It’s hard for me to understand why family members subject their loved ones to known health hazards.

It has been proven that there is no level of second hand smoke that is safe. Even in small amounts when we breath it in it is doing damage. It affects our heart and circulatory system immediately. There is no way to protect non-smokers if smoking is allowed indoors. You can’t simply separate the smokers from the non-smokers in any building because smoke simply travels freely with the air currents. Air currents are constantly changing as doors are open and shut, as people walk around and even our breathing in and out change the air flow around us.

The workplace has always been a problem when trying to deal with second hand smoke. Many businesses are now banning all smoking indoors as well as bars and restaurants. While this is helping quite a lot there are still more workplaces that need to get on board. I have always believed that smokers have rights but at the same time everyone should have to right to work and live in an atmosphere that doesn’t harm them.

As a non-smoker I hope to live to see the day when smoking will no longer be allowed indoors…including homes. I know that sounds severe and drastic but the smoke lingers in the air for us to breath long after the cigarette has been put out.