For more information:
- www.tobaccofacts.org
- www.hc-sc.gc.ca
- www.worksafebc.com
- www.cctc.ca
For additional information, please contact your local public health office or your family doctor.
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Secondhand Smoke: More Dangerous Than You Realize
Secondhand smoke is a major cause of preventable illness and death in BC. Each year secondhand smoke kills at least 500 non-smokers and keeps thousands more from leading healthy, normal lives, even though Canada has one of the lowest smoking rates in Canada. Almost 80% of the people in our province do not smoke.
What is Secondhand Smoke?
Secondhand or environmental tobacco smoke as it is sometimes called, is a combination of the smoke coming off a burning cigarette, pipe or cigar, and the smoke exhaled by a smoker.
Secondhand Smoke and Your Health
Secondhand smoke contains almost 4,000 different chemicals. Of these, Health Canada has identified 42 chemicals that are toxic - many of these chemicals can cause cancer. For example, one of the chemicals found in secondhand smoke, Benzo[a]pyrene, is also found in coal tar and is one of the world's most potent cancer-causing chemicals. Another chemical in secondhand smoke is formaldehyde, which is often used to preserve laboratory animals. Formaldehyde can cause cancer and can damage your lungs, skin, and digestive system.
The more you are exposed to secondhand smoke, the greated your risk of having a heart attack, stroke, or getting lung cancer. Every year in Canada, more than 3,000 deaths occur from exposure to secondhand smoke. In BC, that adds up to more than 500 deaths every year.
When you breathe in secondhand smoke, your lungs must work harder to function. The result may be coughing and chest discomfort. If someone has asthma, they may find that it gets worse after they have been in a smoky room.
Health experts have not established a safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke. Reduing exmposure to secondhand smoke protects everyone's health.
Secondhand Smoke Affects Children's Health
Children are exposed to secondhand smoke in 1 out of 5 BC homes every day. These children are at higher risk of getting sick because their lungs are still developing and are more easily damaged by secondhand smoke. Children also inhale more air pollutants for their size than adults because they breathe faster than adults. For children, exposure to even small amounts of secondhand smoke can aggravate their asthma. It is also linked to higher rates of pneumonia, bronchitis, colds, ear infections, and sore throats. Many of these children will require ongoing medical attention and hospitalization as a result of exposure to secondhand smoke.
Smoking during pregnancy is linked with low birth weight and increased infant mortality. Tobacco smoke puts babies at risk of respiratory infection and also increases the risk of dying from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). A baby exposed to secondhand smoke, or whose mother smoked before or after birth, is at higher risk for SIDS. Don't let ther people, like friends and babysitters, smoke around your baby.
Protection At Home
If you want to protect your family from secondhand smoke, avoid indoor areas where people smoke. If you smoke, smoke outside or in a well-ventilated part of the house that the rest of the family does not use.
If you smoke and are thinking about quitting and wanting help, call the Canadian Cancer Society's toll-free Quit Line at 1-877-455-2233, or talk to your family doctor about other ways to help you quit smoking.
If you smoke and don't plan on quitting soon, it is important to protect the health of others. Here's how:
- Smoke outside. If you can't, try smoking in only one well-ventilated room of the house - a room that the rest of the family doesn't use. Remember, the smoke from just one cigarette can stay for hours in a room, even when the window is left open.
- Don't smoke when there are others in the car. As most cars are almost airtight, the cigarette smoke has no place to escape. Driving with the windows open gives everyone a break - especially children.
Protection At Work
Recent surveys by the Angus Reid Group show that there is strong support for restricting smoking in indoor public spaces. Three-quarters of British Columbians support smoke-free indoor public places.
Because the Workers' Compensation Board defines secondhand smoke as a workpalce hazard, employers must control the exposure of workers to secondhand smoke. Research has shown that worker health has impoved in businesses where smoke-free regulations are in place.
BC's Tobacco Strategy
The best long-term solution to protect people from secondhand smoke is to prevent people from starting to smoke in the first place. To truly achieve a smoke-free BC, we need to protect our young people from a lifelong addiction to nicotine. BC is recognized as a leader world-wide for its comprehensive tobacco strategy to prevent British Columbians from starting to smoke and to help those who start, to quit.
