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HowToPreventHeartDisease.com |
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Will Passive Smoking Cause Heart Disease? Many countries have implemented smoke-free laws in workplaces and indoor public places, including restaurants, bars and nightclubs, as well as some open public areas. But many people are still exposed to second-hand smoke, especially children and spouses who live with family members who smoke. Cigarette smoking is certainly bad for the health but second-hand smoke is equally harmful. When a person is breathing in someone else’s cigarette smoke, also known as second-hand smoke or environmental tobacco smoke, this person is said to engage in passive smoking. Passive smoking, just like cigarette smoking, can raise the risk of cancer, heart disease, stroke and respiratory diseases. It is particularly harmful for children. In 1992, a paper published in the ‘Journal of the American Medical Association’ estimated that second-hand smoke exposure was responsible for 35,000 to 40,000 deaths per year in the United States in the early 1980s. The absolute and attributable risk increase of heart disease due to second-hand smoke was 2.2 and 23 percent respectively. Recent study by National University of Singapore (NUS) found that second-hand smoke or side-stream smoke is more toxic than the fumes inhaled by the smokers themselves. It contains higher concentrations of harmful metals like lead and cadmium. Such toxic elements, which are soluble in water, can actually dissolve upon contact with moist tissues in the lungs or airways and, eventually, end up in the person's bloodstream.
More than 7,000 chemicals are found in tobacco smoke, and many of the chemicals are toxic and can irritate the tissue lining of the air passage in the lungs. Carcinogenic chemicals can also damage DNA in cells, which might lead to lung cancer. Damage from inhaling tobacco smoke is immediate and cumulative. As indicated by the Singapore Cancer Registry, some 1,200 new cases of lung cancer are reported each year. Lung cancer is most deadly for men in Singapore and the second most for women causing about 1,100 deaths a year. Second-hand smoke is emitted during the smoldering cycle of the cigarette that occurs over a longer duration of time. This means that the smoker is estimated to puff on the cigarette for just 2 seconds every minute but second-hand smoke is produced for the remaining 58 seconds of every minute. That is why passive smokers are exposed to higher levels of harmful substances. A cigarette smoke machine is used to conduct the experiments in an airtight chamber. The machine simulates the action of smoking using 4 brands of cigarettes. Each cigarette was smoked for up to 9 minutes, with puffs lasting 2 seconds per minute. Both the inhaled and second-hand smoke were trapped in filters and then analyzed for harmful elements. Meanwhile, the researches also test 3 scenarios in which a passive smoker might find himself. These scenarios included in the presence of a smoker in a small room with limited ventilation; in the presence of a smoker, but in a bigger room with a higher level of fresh outdoor air; and standing near 5 smokers in a well-ventilated outdoor environment like a public smoking zone. Results showed that smokers, who puff in enclosed areas with limited ventilation, such as at home, would inflict the most harm on others. Being enclosed, apartments and homes have less ventilation and hence less dispersion of polluted indoor air compared to outdoor environments. Moreover, indoor air tends to migrate from one room to another through air-conditioning ducts or open doors. The most surprising finding was that a person staying near a smoking zone, as depicted in the third scenario, could also face similar health risks in the long run, despite such areas being well ventilated. No safe level of exposure to tobacco smoke can be found, either as a smoker or as a person who is passively inhaling it. It is hoped that the research would help raise the level of awareness among the general public towards the serious health effects of both active and passive smoking.
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