Smoking is well known to be bad for health. What has become evident over the years is another fact that it not only harms the smokers but those around them through secondhand smoke. Secondhand smoke or environmental smoke (ETS) refers to smoke that is given out by the burning end of a lit cigarette as well as smoke exhaled by the smoker after taking a puff. ETS contains a very large number of chemicals, many of which are toxic, even carcinogenic and radioactive.
Effects of smoking in public places
There is greater awareness among the general public about the ill effects of smoking, tobacco and cigarettes. Because of this, more and more cities around the world are implementing bans on smoking in public. This, along with restrictions on sale of tobacco and cigarettes. The main reason for this is secondhand smoke.
Individuals who are exposed to secondhand smoke are called passive smokers. This is because they inhale cigarette smoke without actually smoking it themselves.
Many more people are now aware of what ETS can do to them. They know that they can suffer from a number of health problems even without being smokers, just by being exposed to this secondhand smoke. It contains more than six hundred different types of chemicals, almost all toxic. Some of them are proven to be carcinogenic while some others are even radioactive.
Some effects of secondhand smoke:
- Lung cancer
- Heart diseases, increased risk of strokes, heart attacks
- Hardening of walls of blood vessels
- Irritation in eyes, nose and ears
- Breathlessness and asthma
These are just some of the risks passive smokers are exposed to. ETS puts everyone at grave risk of contracting a number of serious and sometimes life-threatening illnesses. This is why there are many who support the ban on smoking in public places.
