How does secondhand smoke affect me

National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety. California Environmental Protection Agency. Executive Summary.

June Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. December 7, ; 67 48 Secondhand smoke exposure and survival in early-stage non-small cell lung cancer patients. Clin Cancer Res ;— Eng, et al. Gemine R and Lewis K. EMJ Respir. Parsons A, et al. Influence of smoking cessation after diagnosis of early stage lung cancer on prognosis: systematic review of observational studies with meta-analysis.

BMJ ;b This November your donation goes even further to improve lung health and defeat lung cancer. Double Your Gift. Infants are even more vulnerable to the effects of secondhand smoke because it can cause sudden infant death syndrome SIDS. Pregnant women who are exposed to secondhand smoke may also deliver children with low birth weights. The WHO estimates that 65, fatalities are reported in children related to secondhand smoke.

As a parent, one of the best ways you can prevent secondhand smoke exposure for your child is to quit smoking yourself. Given the numerous health effects of secondhand smoke, avoidance is increasingly being viewed as a human right.

This is why many states have enacted laws prohibiting smoke in common areas, such as restaurants, outside of schools and hospitals, and on playgrounds. Despite the enactment of no-smoking laws, the only way to fully protect nonsmokers from secondhand smoke is smoking cessation. If you live in a multiunit house, cigarette smoke can travel between rooms and apartments. Being outside in an open area, or opening windows around an indoor smoker, does little to stop the effects of secondhand smoke.

The problem according to the CDC , though, is that most secondhand smoke exposure takes place inside homes and job sites. This is especially true for children whose parents smoke inside houses and cars.

Nicotine dependence causes an addiction to tobacco products. You may experience fatigue, headache, dry mouth, or other symptoms when you stop smoking.

But that doesn't make it easy to quit. Our readers sent us their tips on how to quit…. Snuff is a dried form of tobacco that can raise your risk of health problems.

Learn how to quit, starting today. Experts say the benefits from e-cigarettes to people to stop smoking tobacco cigarettes outweighs the risks from teen vaping. Experts say some manufacturers may not be aware of some of the chemicals in their products. Secondhand smoke increases the risk of SIDS , which is the unexplained and unexpected death of an infant. It is the leading cause of death in otherwise healthy babies under age one. It is estimated that a quarter of all SIDS deaths are attributable to tobacco smoke.

Take note if you live or work in one of the 22 states that has not enacted a comprehensive smokefree law. Chronic, common and life-threatening—asthma is a serious disease, only made worse from exposure to secondhand smoke. Close to 25 million Americans are living with asthma and the breathing difficulties that come with it.

Add in smoke-filled air and you can bet asthma attacks will be knocking on your front door. Ear infections have a knack for starting in the middle of the night after the pharmacy has closed.

Secondhand smoke sends , kids to the doctor every year for those miserable middle ear infections. Each year, secondhand smoke causes between , and , infants and toddlers to develop lower respiratory tract illnesses—e. Secondhand smoke can impact a person before they take their first breath. Mothers who are exposed to secondhand smoke are at a greater risk of having low-birth-weight babies.

Little ones born too small may have health complications such as birth defects and infections. Your lungs begin developing inside the womb, and continue to develop in childhood.

Exposure to secondhand smoke stunts that growth and keeps them from reaching their full potential.