Smoking is generally divided into active smoking and passive smoking. Smokers themselves suck cigarette smoke into the body, called active smoking, also known as smoking a hand. Because smokers swallow clouds and smoke pollute the nearby air, so that non-smokers breathe polluted air, but also by the harm of cigarettes, this is called passive smoking, which is what we call second-hand smoke.
The World Health Organization defines second-hand tobacco smoke as smoke that fills an enclosed space when people burn tobacco products such as cigarettes and shisha. Secondhand tobacco smoke has no safe exposure standards, causing more than 1.2 million premature deaths each year and causing severe cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. Nearly half of children regularly breathe air contaminated by tobacco smoke in public places, and 65,000 people die each year from diseases caused by second-hand smoke [1].
Because the harmful components of second-hand smoke can exist in the air and dust for a long time, the surface of objects, and are not easy to dissipate, so they often unconsciously bring long-term harm to the human body. The harm to women and children is greater, and women's long-term second-hand smoke will have adverse effects on reproductive function, sexual function, endocrine and other aspects, resulting in infertility. Exposure to secondhand smoke is also an important risk factor for the development of pregnancy hypertension and pregnancy complications in pregnant women. Nicotine and other harmful substances can be detected in the amniotic fluid of the uterus of 90% of pregnant women who passively smoke second-hand smoke, indicating that tobacco smoke directly pollutes the environment in the womb.
Secondhand smoke can hurt babies even before they are born, leading to premature birth, which is accompanied by low birth weight and the possibility that women may even have miscarriages. It also affects the mother's health, such as breathing and blood pressure levels. Therefore, if you are pregnant, it is best to avoid secondhand smoke from all sources.
Children are the biggest victims of environmental pollution, with studies showing that[2] about 40% of children worldwide are exposed to second-hand smoke, and passive exposure to tobacco smoke puts children and adolescents at risk for severe respiratory diseases and affects lung, cardiovascular and brain function maturation. Usually, children experience higher environmental exposures than adults, coupled with children's hyperactivity, poor self-protection ability, respiratory system function, nervous system function, immune function and other reasons, making them most vulnerable to second-hand smoke, resulting in pneumonia, otitis media and so on. In addition, studies [3] have found that secondhand smoke increases a child's risk of neurological disorders by 50%, including problems such as learning disabilities, depression, and behavioral disorders. In some cases, it can immediately affect the mental health of adults, manifesting as decreased attention and short-term memory, and an increased risk of depression.
For parent smokers, even if they do not smoke in front of children, as long as they have indoor smoking behavior, nicotine floating in the living room, bedroom, etc. can still cause harm to children. For parents who do not smoke in the home, third-hand smoke stored on clothing and skin can also be harmful along with intimate contact with their children.
Third-hand smoke refers to the tobacco residues left on the surface of clothes, walls, carpets, furniture and even hair and skin after smokers swallow clouds and vomit, also known as involuntary smoking, which is also a passive smoking method. This residual fume still emits a toxic gas. This means that even living in places where smokers can be detrimental to health, and children suffer because they are exposed to cigarette smoke during the most critical periods of development.
Some people will ask, since the second-hand smoke of traditional cigarettes is so harmful, can smoking e-cigarettes reduce the harm of second-hand smoke?
Studies [1] show that second-hand aerosols (second-hand smoke of e-cigarettes) produced by the heated solution of e-cigarettes are a new source of air pollution. These include particulate matter (including fine and ultrafine particulate matter), propylene glycol, certain volatile organic compounds, certain heavy metals and nicotine. It's not just "water vapor," as many marketing campaigns suggest.
Compared with smokeless fresh air, used aerosols can cause PM1.0 values to be 14 to 40 times higher and PM2.5 values to be 6 times to 86 times higher. The nicotine content is 10 to 115 times higher, the acetaldehyde content is 2 times to 8 times higher, and the formaldehyde content is 20% higher. In addition, e-cigarettes produce certain metal levels, such as nickel and chromium, even higher than those produced by conventional cigarette secondhand smoke [1].
Therefore, whether it is second-hand smoke produced by traditional cigarettes or second-hand aerosols produced by electronic cigarettes, the essential harm cannot be underestimated.
bibliography:
1. LIU Qiangui. Hurting invisible second-hand smoke[J].Public Health, 2021(05):22-23.
2. Wang Tingting,Hao Wei,He Jingyi,Zheng Ping-Ping,Pan Zixian,Xiao Xia,Abdullah Abu S,Chen Xiaoxiao. The effect of smoking in rural households in Taizhou city on children's second-hand smoke exposure[J].Shanghai Preventive Medicine,2021,33(09):824-828.DOI:10.19428/j.cnki.sjpm.2021.20461.
3. ZHOU Ming. The Crime of Mist Secondhand Health Secondhand Smoke[J].Bodybuilding and Beauty, 2021(11):26-27.