You know that not smoking is vital to your health, but exposure to secondhand smoke, which can linger in the air for hours, can be just as detrimental to your health as actually smoking. Secondhand smoke, which contains thousands of toxic chemicals, consists of the smoke exhaled by a person smoking, and the smoke from the end of the cigarette, cigar or other tobacco product being smoked.
What are the health effects behind exposure to secondhand smoke?
- It can cause asthma, cancer, heart disease, lung disease and other life-threatening conditions.
- Worsens respiratory problems, causes damage to blood vessels and interferes with circulation.
- Children are especially vulnerable to the effects of secondhand smoke, and it can be a risk factor in developing Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia and ear infections.
While there may not be much you can do in open public places that allow smoking, other than avoid those places, there are some steps you can take to reduce your exposure to harmful secondhand smoke in other areas of your life:
- Ban smoking in your home and your car
- Choose to visit non-smoking restaurants and bars
- Always choose non-smoking hotel rooms, rental cars companies and other businesses.
How do you try to avoid secondhand smoke? Let us know in the comments!