The Effects of Second Hand Smoke Essay - 1166 Words

The Effects of Second Hand Smoke Did you know that 3,000 American non-smokers will die this year from lung cancer? Those deaths are entirely preventable. Their lung cancer is caused by second hand smoke. Second hand smoke is smoke they have breathed in from other peoples cigarettes. It is also known as involuntary or passive smoking. There is nothing passive however about the effects of this smoke. It is lethal and it is dangerous. It may give as many as 300,000 children under the age of one and half bronchitis and pneumonia. It could even be responsible for more than 35,000 deaths from heart disease. Smoking causes lung cancer. This fact is indisputable. What is sometimes disputed is the extent to which the smoke from other†¦show more content†¦As a carcinogen, tobacco smoke ranks alongside other cancer causing agents such as asbestos, arsenic, benzene and radon gas. Tobacco smoke is full of carbon monoxide. This is a poisonous gas that inhibits the transportation of oxygen to the bodys vital organs. Coming out of the tip of someone elses cigarette are double the concentrations of nicotine. There are three times the amount of the carcinogen benzo (a) pyrene, five times the amount of carbon monoxide and fifty times the amount of ammonia. On top of this the person quietly puffing away next to you is allowing arsenic, formaldehyde, vinyl chloride and hydrogen cyanide into the air that you are breathing. In despite of this knowledge 43% of children in the US are exposed to second hand smoke in their own homes. Despite the attempts of many places to ban smoking there are still millions of people, who are at risk from the effects of second hand smoke. Many of these will die prematurely. It is perhaps though in children that we see the most alarming effects of the exposure to second hand smoke. Childrens lungs are still developing at their young age. Exposure to second hand smoke means they will have a decreased lung function. A childs airways are also smaller. This means a child will have to breath faster. The result is a child will breath in comparatively more of the poisonous chemicals than an adult in the same room. Exposure of children to second hand smoke leads to anShow MoreRelatedThe Effects Of Second Hand Smoke On Children843 Words   |  4 PagesSecond Hand Smoke Do people know second hand smoke not only affects the person smoking, but it also affects the people around them? Not everyone is aware of the risks of second hand smoke nor how it can effect their future. Second hand smoke is an issue that affects everyone and everybody around it such as unborn children, children, adults, non-smokers and should be avoided as much as possible. What exactly is second hand smoke? 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