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World No Tobacco Day 2018: Passive smoking is as harmful as smoking, say health experts. Second hand smoke puts you at risk of respiratory diseases, cancer of the lungs, and heart issues among a number of other health problems.
Every year, May 31 is observed as World No Tobacco Day and the World Health Organisation (WHO) and others help spread awareness about the health and other risks associated with tobacco use.
Lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma are just some of the diseases which smokers are at risk of developing. But it’s not only the smokers who are at risk.
Even if you don’t smoke, you might be at risk of respiratory diseases and cancer of the lungs, all thanks to passive smoking. More worrying is how second hand smoke could cause sudden death in infants.
But what is passive smoking?
Inhaling smoke that has been breathed out by a smoker and smoke from the burning end of cigarettes, cigars and pipes is known as passive smoking.
“Tobacco smoke is composed of nearly 4,000 different chemicals and over 150 toxins including carbon monoxide which can be lethal in long-term exposure. Over 38% of children between the ages of two months to five years are exposed to passive smoking at home,” says Dr. K.S. Kirushnakumar, a senior consultant and the head of the radiation oncology department in Meenakshi Mission Hospital in Madurai.
Exposure to any environment where people are smoking tobacco and inhaling the smoke can potentially affect a passive smoker. Lung cancer, coughing and wheezing, asthma, sore throats and colds, eye irritation and hoarseness are widely caused by passive smoking.
“A smoker’s wife, children or anybody in the room or surroundings inhale the second hand smoke released by the smoker. This is how passive smoking occurs. Passive smoking causes more chance of heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and lung cancer in wives of smokers,” says Dr. P.T. James, HOD, Pulmonary Medicine, Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, Kochi.
And the news is even worse for children.
“Children of smoking mothers may have more chance of chronic cough, wheeze, ear infections and other respiratory symptoms. Sudden infant death syndrome is another condition reported in infants of smoking mothers,” explains Dr James.
But how does one limit their exposure to passive smoking?
“The effects of passive smoking can be avoided by limiting exposure to people who smoke. Strict laws to provide smoke-free areas in workplaces and outdoors/ public places can also be helpful in the prevention of passive smoking,” says Dr. Kirushnakumar.
