Second Hand Smoke
In the 1950’s and 60’s, the tobacco industry mounted a campaign to keep alive the doubt of the time about the consequences of smoking. This effort ultimately was unsuccessful but did however succeed in putting off the day when smoking was finally acknowledged as a health hazard. The tobacco industry also foresaw the health debate over secondhand smoke in the 1970’s. Secondhand smoke is a combination of the smoke from a burning cigarette and the smoke exhaled by the smoker. This smoke, often referred to as Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS), is recognized easily by its odor. ETS contaminates the air and is held in fabrics such as clothing and furniture. In an U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) report in December 1992 entitled “Respiratory health Effects of Passive Smoking”, the EPA classified environmental tobacco smoke a Class A human carcinogen, causing cancer in humans and unsafe at any level. The EPA firmly maintains that the bulk of the scientific evidence demonstrates that ETS causes lung cancer and other significant health threats to children and adults. Since the EPA’s initial findings, it has become widely accepted in the scientific and public health community that second
What is your own personal risk of health problems related to secondhand smoke? Since the amount of smoke inhaled is related to the risk of disease, avoiding exposure is the single greatest factor in preventing secondhand smoke related health problems. A non-smokers risk of dying from lung cancer, although small, is increased by living or working for years among people who smoke heavily. If you have household members who smoke, help them to quit. If that does not work, ask them and visitors who smoke to do so outside of your home. Do not allow anyone to smoke in your car. Support local smoking legislation that promotes smoke free areas and health hazards of secondhand smoke. The EPA recommends that every organization dealing with children have a smoking policy that effectively protects children from exposure to environmental tobacco smoke. Find out about the smoking polices of the day care providers and other caregivers for your children to limit their exposure to secondhand smoke. The evidence on the effects of secondhand smoke and heart disease is not as abundant as that on lung cancer, but of the studies conducted, they consistently show an elevated risk of heart disease with exposure to secondhand smoke. A number of authorities, including the State of California, OSHA, and the American Heart Association, have declared secondhand smoke a risk factor for heart disease. If exposure to secondhand smoke does increase the risk of heart disease by 30%, then it’s causing an estimated 35 to 40 thousand deaths a year in the United States. This figure is about 10 times the number of lung cancer deaths attributed to secondhand smoke, making the annual death toll from secondhand smoke comparable to that from vehicle accidents. The
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Approximate Word count = 1189
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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