The Blair County Respiratory Disease Society

What should I know?

Have you ever breathed the smoke that curls up from the tips of someone’s cigarette? Have you ever breathed the smoke exhaled by a smoker? If so, then you have breathed the same harmful, cancer-causing parts of smoke inhaled by smokers. As an involuntary smoker – a nonsmoker exposed to second-hand smoke – you are at an increased risk.

The risk of developing disease depends on the amount of tobacco exposure. As an involuntary smoker, you breathe less tobacco smoke than an active smoker because it mixes with the air around you. Nevertheless, the Environmental Protection Agency estimates that 3,000 nonsmokers die of lung cancer annually as a result of inhaling second-hand smoke. Involuntary smoking also causes heart disease, aggravates asthmatic conditions and impairs blood circulation.

Though legislation has been passed in the workplace, there’s still cause for concern. Tobacco smoke spreads quickly, and a work day is more than enough time to expose most people within many working environments. Even if you don’t sit next to smokers, the smoky air within a building may be harmful.

Why should I know?

The Surgeon General and the National Academy of Sciences have examined the evidence surrounding involuntary smoking. Both studies agreed: “Exposure to other persons’ smoke increases the risk of developing lung cancer.” Other studies have also shown dangers for nonsmokers who breathe second-hand smoke. These studies have found that:

• Overall, nonsmoking wives of husbands who smoke have a 20% increased risk of lung cancer compared with women whose husbands don’t smoke.
o DHHS, 1993; NIH Pub. No.93-360, Smoking and Tobacco Control, Monograph 4. pp. v. and vii.

• Nonsmokers married to heavy smokers (40+ cigarettes a day) were found to have 2 times the risk of lung cancer compared with those married to nonsmokers.
o ACS, Cancer, Causes & Control. 1997;8 p.62.

• Nonsmokers married to smokers had about 20% higher coronary heart disease mortality compared to nonsmoking couples.
o Circulation. 1996;94: p.622.628.

These studies have focused on people who live with smokers; if you live with just 1 smoker, you are at risk for lung cancer.

Who's taking action?

As of January 1, 1997, 48 states and the District of Columbia have some restriction on smoking in public places.

44 states (plus D.C.) have restricted smoking in government buildings; 22 restrict it in private workplaces.

All 50 states (plus D.C.) prohibit the sale of tobacco products to minors.

All 50 states (plus D.C.) impose an excise tax on cigarettes – the national average being 60 cents per pack (as of September 2002).

47 states (plus D.C.) require licensing of parties that sell tobacco products.

45 states have provided distribution of settlement dollars to tobacco prevention programs.

Specifically for Pennsylvania, as of June 13, 2008, smoking was banned in all enclosed workplaces, with few exceptions, including restaurants and bowling alleys. The law exempts taverns and bars where food sales account for less than 20% and alcohol sales account for more than 80%, established private clubs where officers vote to allow it and on 25% of gambling floor space at casinos.

What about kids?

Lung cancer is not the only hazard that faces involuntary smokers. For instance, the children of smokers have a greater chance of developing certain illnesses such as:
• Colds
• Bronchitis and pneumonia, especially during the first 2 years of life
• Chronic coughs, especially as children get older
• Ear infections
• Reduced lung function
• Increasing severity of symptoms and episodes among children with Asthma

As with adults, the more smoke a child is exposed to, the more that child’s risk is increased. Therefore, if it is the smoking parent who handles most of the child care, the child’s chances of developing the ailments listed above are greater. And of course, the risk is highest if both parents smoke.

What can I do?

• If you smoke – stop!
• If others in your household smoke – help them to stop
• Always ask to be seated in the nonsmoking sections of restaurants & public transportation
• Make certain that your children’s schools & their child-care situations are smoke-free
• Help negotiate for a smoke-free environment
• Ask visitors not to smoke in your home
• Let your legislators know where you stand on nonsmoker’s rights issues and that you will support their efforts to pass laws designed to protect the nonsmoker
• Call your local American Cancer Society and ask how you can become active in the effort to reduce smoking in your community