Exposure to Secondhand Smoke

Grand Canyon University

Sammy Levuong
2019
 Voice over link

https://www.loom.com/share/a1512aee15bc48578422de41d522059a
What is secondhand smoke?
● Secondhand smoke comes from burning tobacco products. Tobacco products include:
cigarettes, cigars or loose leaf tobacco smoked in pipes.
● Secondhand smoke is also smoke that is being exhaled by someone that is inhaling
tobacco products.
● Tobacco smoke has over 7,000 chemicals, many that are toxic and some are known to
cause cancer.
● Secondhand smoke is as toxic as directly smoking tobacco product.
 Where can you be exposed to it?
A person can be exposed to secondhand smoke anywhere.

Places include homes with smokers, riding in a vehicle with a smoker, being in
public where someone is smoking, work places, restaurants, bars, and casinos.
Traces of chemicals from the tobacco product can also settle on the clothes of
smokers and surfaces that they were smoking near. These particles can remain
there for a long period of time.

There is no safe amount of time to being exposed to any amount of smoke.

 Some toxins contained in secondhand smoke and their
effects:
Secondhand smoke poses a huge health risk for all. From our youngest population to the
elderly. According to the American Cancer Society there is no safe amount of exposure to
secondhand smoke. Even just a little bit can affect our health. The toxins contained within
the smoke that is coming from the lit end of tobacco products and exhale from a smoker is
harmful. The smoke can contain: formaldehyde, cadmium (toxic metal), and butadiene
(hazardous gas). Formaldehyde smoke can cause irritated airway, asthmas, chest pain,
shortness of breath, and cancer. Inhaling large amounts of cadmium can damage kidneys,
lungs and bones. It can lead to death. Butadiene is a known carcinogen.
 Cancers related to secondhand smoke
Nonsmokers that are constantly exposed to secondhand smoke can lead to not
only lung cancer but it has been linked to cancers of the

● Larynx (voice box)

● Pharynx (throat)
● Nasal sinuses
● Brain
● Bladder
● Rectum
● Stomach
● Breast
 Secondhand smoke leads to other health problems
Inhaling secondhand smoke causes inflammation. The smoke and toxins can affect the
heart and blood vessels as well.

This can increase chances of developing coronary artery diseases, peripheral vascular
diseases, heart attacks, strokes, and diabetes.
 Secondhand Smoke During Pregnancy
Smoking during your pregnancy is never advised and is even more harmful for
your unborn child than secondhand smoke.

Being exposed to secondhand smoke during your pregnancy can be very harmful
to your unborn child.

Some harmful effects of secondhand smoke during pregnancy can be end in:
Miscarriages
Stillborns
Premature births (born prior to being fully developed)
Low birth weight
Learning and developmental delays later on
Reduce fertility
Poor lung development
 Exposure to secondhand smoke in the 1st year of
life
Children exposed to secondhand smoke increases chances of:

● Getting sick more often

● More prone to ear infections
● Develop asthma
● Lung infections
● Respiratory symptoms (coughing, sneezing, shortness of breath)
● SIDS
● Poor lung maturity
 Secondhand smoke SIDS and asthma
An infant being around secondhand smoke can increase the
possibility of the infant having Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
(SIDS). SIDS is something that is not entirely understood.

Secondhand smoke can trigger asthma attacks in children. The

asthma attacks can also be more severe than normal. Possibly
requiring trips to the doctors office or emergency room.
 Children of smokers
Childrens of smokers are more prone to become smokers themselves later
on in life.

Children of smokers have poor lung development. Their lungs never fully develop
and mature or become damaged from inhalation of tobacco smoke.

Secondhand smoke can also cause early onset of cataracts.

 Parents can help protect their children from second-
hand smoke by taking the following actions
a. Do not allow anyone to smoke near you
b. Move away from people that are smoking
c. Do not allow anyone to smoke anywhere in your home.
d. Do not allow anyone to smoke in car, even with the window down.
e. Make sure children’s schools are tobacco-free.
f. If your state still allows smoking in public areas, look for restaurants and other places
that do not allow smoking.
g. Avoid being in an enclosed space with someone that is smoking.
 National Resource:
American Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation

It is a foundation that has a list of all the local, state, and federal regulations and
ordinances on the use of tobacco products. They provide information about the risks
associated with inhaling secondhand smoke. The information includes not only smoke
from tobacco products but also from marijuana and vape pens.

https://no-smoke.org/about-us/
 Community Resources:
Free Quit Smoking Classes provided by Anaheim Regional Medical Center. This is a local hospital that provides
classes on smoking cessation and provides free nicotine patches to help. The classes are held on Mondays of each
month from from 5:30pm to 6:30pm.
1211 W. La Palma Ave., Anaheim, CA 92801
Phone Number 1-866-NEW-LUNG (639-5864)
http://www.ochealthinfo.com/civicax/filebank/blobdload.aspx?BlobID=87797

OC Health is the Orange County Health Department that provides information on secondhand smoke. It also has
information on how to prevent and avoid having secondhand smoke from entering your condo or apartment from an
outside source. They also gives information to apartment complex owners on how they can restrict the use of
tobacco products in the complex.
405 W. 5th St., Santa Ana, CA 92701
(714) 541-1444
http://www.ochealthinfo.com/phs/about/promo/tupp/housing
 Web-based Resource
Smoke Free is a website that the government runs. It provides information and help to quit
smoking. It also provides other information about the harmful effects of secondhand
smoke and what it does to you and your family.

https://smokefree.gov/
References:
Health Risks of Secondhand Smoke. (2015). Retrieved from
https://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancer-causes/tobacco-and-cancer/secondhand-smoke.html

Naeem, Z. (2015). Second-hand smoke – ignored implications. Retrieved from

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4538886/

Secondhand Smoke (SHS) Facts. (2018). Retrieved from

https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/secondhand_smoke/general_facts/index.htm

The Dangers of Secondhand Smoke. (2014). Retrieved from

https://www.healthychildren.org/English/health-issues/conditions/tobacco/Pages/Dangers-of-Secondhand-Sm
oke.aspx