Deadly Ramifications From Secondhand Smoke

Secondhand smoke is more toxic to bystanders because it hasn't been inhaled and "cleared" by the smoker's lungs. The innocent non-smoker is subjected to side stream smoke which is emitted from the smoker's tobacco. What makes it different is the non-smoker inhales a higher concentration of the small lethal particles.

People who were born from 1930 to 1960 are more likely to have asthma and other respiratory illnesses, due to being born in the "Fashionable Smoking Era." The first report on smoking and health issued by the Surgeon General of the United States came out in 1964. Shortly after that the facts pertaining to secondhand smoke were revealed by reputable scientists and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Non-smokers are more sensitive to smoke because they are not used to it and their lungs have not adapted to the carbon monoxide it generates. There is twice as much nicotine in secondhand smoke, it is classified as a cancer-causing agent and is responsible for 35,000 to 37,000 coronary heart disease deaths. Non-smokers who are exposed to secondhand smoke through their families or workplace have lung damage equal to that of people who smoke 1 to 8 cigarettes a day.

Children that are exposed to their parents' smoke will be prone to asthma, bronchitis, colds and pneumonia. Babies of cigarette-smoking women are at risk of suffering developmental failures and are more likely to have a low birth weight.

There are other tragedies that most of us are not aware of.  Did you know...

1 Smokers are responsible for igniting house fires that kill over 2,500 non-smokers in the United States every year,

2 Four thousand secondhand smokers die of lung cancer each year,

3 Chronic lung diseases such as tuberculosis and emphysema account for lung cancers among non-smokers,

4 Secondhand smoke or passive smoking is now the third leading preventable cause of death in the United States?

Remember, it is crucial if you are a non-smoker to keep away from smoke given off by burning tobacco! If you are exposed to secondhand smoke on a regular basis it is wise to increase your antioxidant nutrient intake. Consumption of foods rich in carotene offers significant benefits.

1 Green leafy vegetables

2 Apricots

3 Carrots

4 Mangoes

5 Yams

6 Peaches

7 Sweet potatoes

Supplementing your diet with Vitamin C and E is highly advisable.

Now that all the evidence is on the table and the crack down on secondhand smoke has begun, the conclusion is for those of us that made the decision not to smoke why should we be dealing with so many ramifications from a deadly habit we never acquired. Perhaps the tobacco companies can answer that question.