| Saskatchewan Lifestyles | Tobacco Index |
Second Hand Smoke
Second hand smoke is very harmful. It can cause a variety of
illnesses including bronchitis, cancer, asthma and ear infections;
not to mention the the risk of having a heart attack or stroke,
or getting lung cancer. It effects people of any age, but has
more of an effect on infants and young children.
Second hand smoke contains 4,000 different chemicals, of these,
42 have been identified as toxic, and many of these can cause
cancer. Some of these include carbon monoxide, benzene, and formaldehyde.
Every year in Canada more than 3,000 deaths occur from second
hand smoke, and 53,000 deaths in the world. Second hand smoke
is the third largest cause of preventable deaths. Contrary to
popular belief, you can inhale the same amount of carcinogens
across the room from a smoker as you would sitting next to one.
Women who are pregnant, whether or not they smoke, can pass
cancer-causing chemicals from cigarette smoke to their unborn
babies. Babies that are exposed to second hand smoke before and
after birth are at a higher risk for many illnesses as well as
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).
There is no safe level of second hand smoke established, but reducing
second hand smoke will help protect everyone's health.