Beware of Second-Hand Cigarette Smoke

2010-02-06T01:50:00.005-08:00

IF possible, don't get near someone who is puffing cigarettes. If he's your husband or wife or anybody from the same household, let him do or finish the smoking in a restricted part of the house, safe and away from your smell especially from your kids. If possible, try your utmost to persuade all smoking members of your household to do away smoking. Tales of non-smokers who joined the caravan of no return are gospel truth. Research has proven time and again that non-smokers who unwittingly inhale smoke from nearby smokers do succumb to diseases caused by smoking.

When a non-smoker inhales smokes coming from a smoker's cigarettes- research has proven that about 4 thousand different chemicals go with the smoke. This simply means that the smoke together with the toxic chemicals- about 4 thousand of them- are ingested by the non-smoker inside his body through his nostril . This tobacco smoke includes tar, carbon monoxide and poisons.

Tar is composed of chemicals including cancer-causing substances. Carbon Monoxide lowers the amount of oxygen your blood can carry. Poisons include arsenic, ammonia and hydrogen cyanide. From the smoke particles- too small for the eye to see- mix with the surrounding air. These particles are unwittingly inhaled by anyone near the smoker and are carried down into the lungs. They are harmful to the health, especially in kids.

Second hand smoke- it is so-called- because the smoke is just taken from somebody by the non-smoker- may appear harmless but the opposite is true. It kills. It increases a person's risk for:

1) respiratory infections like bronchitis and pneumonia,
2) asthma,
3) coughing, sore throat, sniffling and sneezing,
4) cancer and

5) heart disease

Second-hand smoke not only jeopardizes a person's health in the future- it can cause problems right now- like affecting someone sports performance or ability to be physically alive. Along this line, the Center for Health Development, Metro Manila in coordination with the World Lung Foundation conducted a survey and published their results on June 15, 2009. Interviewing 1000 respondents- age 18 to 55- they obtained the following results:

1) 52% of Metro Manilans are exposed to second-hand smoke every day,
2) 71% are exposed to it once a week,
3) 71% of non-smokers strongly agree that being around smoke upsets them; they admitted knowing that second-hand smoke harms non-smokers,
4) 87% of respondents said they think smoking causes heart disease in non-smokers,
5) 93% believe it causes lung cancer and

6) 96% believe smoking causes lung disease in children who are exposed to it.

Source: Internet, ABS-CBN News

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Beware of Second-Hand Cigarette Smoke