Secondhand and Passive Smoke

Secondhand smoke  (smoke that drifts off the end of a burning cigarette) and

 Passive smoke  (smoke exhaled by someone who is smoking) contains dangerous chemicals that are a hazard when inhaled –either directly or indirectly. Carbon monoxide, which is found in smoke, starves your blood of oxygen and increases the work your heart must perform. Nicotine raises your blood pressure and heart rate, and tar, which also builds up in your lung tissue, contains cancer-causing substances. These dangerous chemicals increase your risk of several kinds of cancer, heart disease, heart attack, and chronic respiratory illness and disease. Nonsmokers are unwittingly being forced to engage in a “smoking” habit by inhaling, secondhand, the smoke of others. Smoking family members and friends of nonsmokers may be exposing their family to an increased risk of illness or disease, and more and more evidence points to the fact that this kind of indirect exposure to smoke is harmful.

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