Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Tobacco: The Innocent Victims

  • Secondhand smoke is a complex mixture of gases and particles that includes smoke from the burning cigarette, cigar, or pipe tip (sidestream smoke) and exhaled mainstream smoke.
  • Secondhand smoke contains at least 250 chemicals known to be toxic, including more than 50 that can cause cancer.
  • Secondhand smoke exposure causes heart disease and lung cancer in nonsmoking adults.
  • Breathing secondhand smoke has immediate harmful effects on the cardiovascular system that can increase the risk of heart attack.
  • The California Environmental Protection Agency estimates that secondhand smoke exposure causes approximately 3,400 lung cancer deaths and 22,700–69,600 heart disease deaths annually among adult nonsmokers in the United States.
  • Secondhand smoke exposure causes respiratory symptoms in children and slows their lung growth.

(www.cdc.gov)

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