Essay On Secondhand Smoke

The American Heart Association reports an even gloomier number, “Cigarette smoking is the most important preventable cause of premature death in the United States. It accounts for more than 440,000 of the more than 2.4 million annual deaths. Cigarette smokers have a higher risk of developing a number of chronic disorders. (AHA, 2005).

Imagine yourself sitting down to dinner at a restaurant. You are sitting down trying to enjoy your dinner when all you can smell is smoke. Not only are you just breathing in the smoke, it is also damaging your body at the same time. Or imagine yourself at your work place, whether it be a restaurant or office, and you are forced to breathe in second-hand smoke the entire time you are there. In this paper you will be informed of the harmful effects of second-hand smoke, and why smoking should be banned from all public places.

There two kinds of secondhand smoke, mainstream and sidestream smoke. Sidestream makes up 80 percent of secondhand smoke and mainstream 20 percent. Sidestream is the more dangerous of the two because it has higher concentrations of poisons than

Secondhand smoke is a volatile air pollutant that poses health risks for anyone nearby. It places children at risk for developing issues like asthma, ear and respiratory infections, and even cancer, while increasing the more obvious risks of cancer, heart disease, and stroke for the smoker.

People who inhale second hand smoke on a regular basis are at the same risk as smokers. The risks include cancer, emphysema and heart disease. Secondhand smoke is a serious health hazard that can lead to illness and premature death in children and non-smoking adults. According to American Cancer Society “secondhand smoke (SHS) is also known as environmental tobacco smoke (ETS). SHS is a mixture of two forms of smoke that come from burning tobacco. The two forms are Side stream smoke which is smoke from the lighted end of a cigarette, pipe, or cigar and Mainstream smoke which is the smoke exhaled by a smoker.” Tobacco smoke is a mixture of gases and particles, it has about 250 harmful chemicals and 60 are known to cause cancer. Reynolds American is the second largest cigarette maker in the world. They have recently changed one of their

According to 2006 United States' Surgeon General report, secondhand smoke is a cause for premature death and disease in children and non-smokers. In addition, children exposed to secondhand smoke are at an increased risk for sudden infant death syndrome, ear problems, acute respiratory infections, and severe asthma. Smoking by parents causes respiratory symptoms and slows lung growth in their children and to adults the secondhand smoke has immediate adverse effects on the cardiovascular system and causes coronary heart disease and lung cancer. Finally, the Surgeon General report states, “the scientific evidence indicates that there is no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke (US Department of Health and Human Services, 2006).“Third hand smoke is the name given to the toxic particles from cigarette smoke that settle onto surfaces in your home and remain long after smoking has ceased” (Heidtman, 2010), which means that even if a person smokes in the house when there is no one present the particles that state on the surfaces will still harm the health of the family that resides in the house. According to the Smoking-Related Fires in Residential Buildings (2008-2010) by the US Fire Administration,

According to the CDC, smoking can lead to lung and mouth cancers, as well as increased possibility of strokes and heart problems. Presently, smoking-related illnesses top the charts in cause of death in the United States.

With tobacco smoke containing nearly 10,000 compounds and chemicals, hundreds of which are toxic, smoking puts an individual at risk for numerous illnesses and conditions. Smoking causes one out of three cancer deaths in the U.S. and according to Mayo Clinic, every year, lung cancer kills more Americans than breast, colon, ovarian and prostate cancers do combined. Smoking causes 87 percent of lung cancer deaths in the U.S.

Second hand smoke can be a problem at work, in public places, at home, and in the car (Winstanley & Ford, 2008). Second hand smoke is when non-smokers breathe in nicotine and toxic chemicals the same way smokers do (Winstanley & Ford, 2008). The more second hand smoke an individual breathes in, the higher the levels of these harmful chemicals that will start to build up in their body (Winstanley & Ford, 2008). Second hand smoke is known to increase the chances of a nonsmoking individual to a rate of about 20-30% more likely to develop lung cancer. Some evidence suggests that it might be linked in adults to cancers of the larynx, pharynx, nasal sinuses, brain, bladder, rectum, stomach, and breast (Winstanley & Ford, 2008). Second hand smoke can be harmful in many other ways as well, affecting the heart and blood vessels causing heart disease, and increasing the risk of heart attacks and strokes in nonsmokers (Winstanley & Ford, 2008). Second hand smoke can also trigger asthma attacks, make asthma symptoms worse, and even cause new cases of asthma in kids who didn't have symptoms before (Winstanley & Ford,

Smoking is an expensive habit. People who smoke cigarettes can spend as much as $2,500 a year on them. Smokers’ claim that it helps relax them and it releases stress but the negative aspects of smoking outweigh the positive. Smoking is a health hazard for smokers and non-smokers. Smokers should have the right to choose what to do with their own health but they should respect non-smokers. Many people believe that there are good and bad outcomes from smoking. I believe that smoking is bad and that it should be banned.

Many deaths from heart diseases are caused by secondhand smoking. The center for Disease Control and Prevention says that "Since 1964, approximately 2,500,000 nonsmokers have died from health problems caused by exposure to secondhand smoke.". This means that  about 47,170 people died per year due to health problems created by secondhand smoking. Secondhand smoking causes many deaths in the United States. WebMD says "Every year in the U.S., secondhand smoke causes about 34,000 deaths from heart disease and 7,300 deaths from lung cancer". This means that about sixty-seven percent of the people who died annually were in the United States. While there are many deaths involved with heart disease which is the result of secondhand smoking, but there is one more thing I would like to talk to you

Secondhand smoke is the combination of the smoke exhaled by smokers and the burning end of a cigarette. This smoke is dangerous for children and should not be used in the car with children.

The Surgeon General has called it "the leading preventable cause of disease and deaths in the United States." Smoking is among the top preventable risk factors of heart disease amongst many other health problems. Coronary heart disease and strokes are the primary types of cardiovascular disease caused by smoking. They rank as the first and third leading causes of death in the United States. More than 61 million Americans suffer from some form of cardiovascular disease. Smoking increases your risk for high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, stroke, congestive heart failure, and aneurysms to name a few. More than 2,600 Americans die every day from cardiovascular diseases.

Even for people without breathing conditions, breathing secondhand smoke for a brief period can be deadly.

Cigarette smoking is something people all over the world have been doing for about 2000 years. Back in 2003, the first electronic cigarette was successfully created by a gentleman named Hon Lik. Lik was a 52 year old pharmacist at the time, whom of which was also a smoker. The inspiration behind making the electronic cigarette came after Lik’s father passed away from lung cancer due to him also being a heavy smoker. “A Historical Timeline of Electronic Cigarettes.” cassia.org. Consumer Advocates for Smoke Free Alternatives Association, 15 June 2017. The idea behind creating this device was to give smokers a way to still ingest nicotine, the most addictive chemical in tobacco cigarettes, without the countless negative health effects that