Many people believe that bad habits harm the person himself. But, smoking poses a huge danger both to the smoker and to those around him. Today we are fighting against passive smoking. What is this? Passive (forced) smoking is forced inhalation of air contaminated by cigarette smoke. Thus, non-smokers face the same diseases as experienced smokers. What is the danger? passive smoking?
There is no doubt that secondhand smoke is harmful. After all, in this case, contaminated smoke is inhaled against the will of a person. He is simply forced to be in such circumstances. A smoker consciously and voluntarily harms his health by smoking cigarettes one after another. Statistics indicate that even standing at a bus stop, a non-smoking person inhales about 60% of the toxic substances found in cigarette smoke.
What harmful toxins are included in tobacco smoke? The following components poison the body of a passive smoker:
This is not the entire list harmful components, which are concentrated in cigarette smoke. There are about 4 thousand more toxic substances. More than 50 of them are dangerous carcinogens. As is known, carcinogens often cause cancer diseases. Therefore, secondhand smoke is just as dangerous as actually smoking cigarettes.
It disrupts the functioning of absolutely all systems and organs. In some cases, it is more harmful than the active one. This is especially true for pregnant girls and children. Constantly being in a smoky room will certainly lead to diseases characteristic of an experienced smoker. Cigarette smoke disrupts the sensitivity of the olfactory organs and dulls taste buds. Skin, hair, and clothes become saturated with tobacco smoke. So, a passive smoker becomes a real hostage bad habit your close circle.
When you inhale tobacco smoke, the upper respiratory tract is primarily affected. Thus, against the background of regular irritation of the mucous membranes of this system, the following complications develop:
This is just a small part of what passive smoking leads to. Further, a person who never smokes experiences vasomotor rhinitis. With this disease, a person suffers from chronic runny nose. The danger of this pathology is that the risk of bronchial asthma increases. It is known that this disease is chronic.
Few people know that any diseases of the nasal cavity are directly related to the ears. Any pathology of the nasal mucosa provokes tubootitis, eustacheitis, otitis media, autophony, hearing impairment. Also, scientists have found that bronchial asthma five times more likely to occur when inhaling cigarette smoke. If a passive smoker has developed chronic irritation of the lung mucosa, the risk of proliferation of the pulmonary membrane increases. Thus, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is diagnosed.
Along with the respiratory system, the central nervous system also suffers. With passive smoking, the same harm is seen as with active smoking. Thus, among the first signs of a disorder are nervousness, irritability, and a disturbance in the psycho-emotional background. Nicotine, which exceeds its concentration in the air, is dangerous for the nervous system, and not when inhaled from a cigarette.
There is an active release of neurotransmitters, which has an exciting, psychostimulating effect. Against this background, a passive smoker may complain about:
Those components that are part of cigarette smoke negatively affect the condition cardiovascular system. Thus, there is a decrease in vascular tone, an increase in their permeability, and depletion of the vascular walls. Consequently, the risk of developing arrhythmia, tachycardia, and ischemia increases. By constantly inhaling polluted air, a passive smoker exposes himself to diseases such as hypertension, myocardial infarction, stroke, atherosclerosis, coronary heart disease, and angina.
Scientists have proven that both active and passive smokers often suffer from such a pathology as obliterating endarteritis. The disease is characterized by the development of gangrene of the extremities. It has also been scientifically proven that passive smoking increases the risk of stroke by 44%. Treatment of any pathologies of blood vessels and heart is difficult, since the body was, and remains, in a state of chronic nicotine intoxication.
Nicotine smoke is a powerful allergen. Therefore, regular stay in a smoky room provokes allergic conjunctivitis. Also, drying of the mucous membrane of the eye is observed. So, a person has to blink more often, and “dry eye” syndrome appears. All this causes a narrowing of the eye vessels and disturbances in the structure of the cornea.
Inhalation of polluted air has an extremely negative impact on work genitourinary system. This is especially true for women. Thus, wives living with smoking husbands complain of irregular, short menstrual cycle. This anomaly causes difficulties in conceiving a child. Both passive and active smoking provoke depletion of the ovarian reserve in girls.
Passive smoking is also dangerous for male body. Thus, there is a connection between smoke inhalation and a decrease in sperm motility and fertility. Hence, quality indicators ejaculate is undoubtedly reduced.
Various studies have shown that regular inhalation of dirty smoke leads to serious illnesses. First of all, it is lung cancer. Yes, for such a pathology it is not at all necessary to become an experienced smoker. Thus, lung cancer occurs 30% more often than in people who even protect themselves from passive smoking.
In women, the risk of developing breast cancer increases by 72%, and malignant tumors in the kidneys by 15%. Also, mortality from stroke increases, coronary disease heart muscle by 60%. Thus, 2,700 more people die from this pathology every year, in age group from 18 to 55 years old. In general, hearing loss can be traced from passive smoking, mental activity, memory, deterioration of hair and skin condition.
In general, the statistics show the following figures:
In families where at least one spouse smokes, children get sick many times more often. For a small child’s body, even a minimal dose of toxic substances from cigarette smoke is enough to simply destroy the immune system, protective functions body. Young children are exposed to intoxication every second. After all, they cannot open the window and go to another room.
Such a child very often develops allergies and chronic bronchial asthma. He regularly has more colds, viral diseases because the immune system is impaired. It has been proven that if the mother during breastfeeding smokes, the risk of respiratory tract pathologies in a baby increases by 96%. If a mother holds a child in her arms while smoking, these pathologies occur in 75% of all cases.
Passively smoking child suffers from the same diseases as an adult who inhales toxic smoke:
Children in smoking families are often susceptible to neurological pathologies. From an early age, the child lags behind both mentally and physical development, from their peers. Regular exposure to tobacco smoke toxins leads to apathy, lethargy, and weak activity in the baby. Hyperactivity syndrome, increased aggression, and decreased concentration are often observed.
Passive smoking is extremely dangerous for a pregnant woman. This is especially true for the fetus. Toxin poisoning makes you feel worse expectant mother. Moreover, nicotine smoke can cause fetal developmental disorders. Subsequently, this can cause the fetus to freeze and die. Girls who are exposed to regular smoke inhalation often give birth to small babies.
The risk of prematurity increases. At the same time, the child may be born with complications such as cleft lip, strabismus, clubfoot, cleft palate. Intoxication of the expectant mother's body causes fetal hypoxia. In the future, the child may be born with mental and intellectual disabilities.
The danger for the fetus lies in the fact that the baby may be born with a reduced head and chest. The risk of pathology such as syndrome increases sudden death baby. Such pregnant girls complain of constant, severe toxicosis almost the entire time of pregnancy. Therefore, expectant mothers need to not only monitor the quality of their diet, but also protect themselves from smoke poisoning.
Many say that it was thanks to Columbus that Old Europe learned to smoke tobacco. His discovery of a new continent gave people a lot of interesting plants and animals. Among all this wealth, one of the most widespread bad habits on the planet has appeared.
The modern world knows smoking cigarettes as inhaling tobacco smoke due to the combustion of the dried leaves of this plant of the nightshade family, which contain a natural alkaloid - nicotine. Due to their convenience, cigarettes have become extremely popular.
These are crushed tobacco leaves tightly compressed and wrapped in a paper tube. Production tobacco products occupies a leading position in the world along with the oil industry and alcohol production.
In most countries of the civilized world, smoking is not prohibited by law. But there are some restrictions on it, which are expressed in the ban on appearing with a lit cigarette in public places. The reason for this is the passive smoking of others, which has a very negative effect on their health.
During the combustion of a cigarette and its smoking, several types of tobacco smoke are released, which have different chemical composition, temperature and have different effects on the body. It was the study of this phenomenon that answered the question: “Why is passive smoking dangerous?”
The main smoke is the combustion products of tobacco, which a person inhales directly when smoking. It contains more than 4,000 chemical compounds. The main one is the naturally occurring alkaloid nicotine. It causes addiction with its stimulating effect on the body.
Secondary cigarette smoke is the result of vapors that have passed through a person's lungs being exhaled into the atmosphere. Studies show that it has a more dangerous composition than the inhaled one.
Sidestream smoke occurs during the smoldering process of a cigarette. It is inhaled only as passive smoking and is the most harmless in its effects.
The complex chemical composition of tobacco smoke has a strong effect on the body. Unfortunately, there are practically no positive aspects in it.
Carbon monoxide reduces lung capacity. Soot and resins settle on the walls of the respiratory tract and cause shortness of breath, asthma, and frequent colds.
Arsenic and cyanide are powerful poisons that can accumulate in human body, as well as many carcinogens.
Lung and larynx cancer are “occupational” diseases of smokers. According to many studies, it is among people who have this habit that this disease is diagnosed more than 50% more often.
IN female body Cigarettes cause breast and genital cancer. Smoking woman It is more difficult for her to endure pregnancy, even if she gives up cigarettes during it.
In addition to physical, smoking also causes psychological dependence. People who give up this habit often gain weight due to the constant urge to “chew something,” because previously their hands and mouth were constantly busy with “work.”
Accumulates when smoking indoors large number smoke. People begin to inhale not only what comes from the cigarette, but also what is around them. At this time, both active and passive smoking occurs.
Secondary smoke has a dangerous composition of substances that enter the body. However, a person is not always a smoker. Passive smoke inhalation is possible even for children and non-smokers. However, they do not always suspect that they are at risk.
Whether passive smoking is harmful can be judged by the body's first reaction. A non-smoker has a cough and watery eyes like defensive reaction to irritant tobacco smoke.
In addition, many scientists and doctors say that passive inhalation of tobacco combustion products significantly increases the risk of disease. This risk is even greater than with active smoking. This is what main paradox: smokers deliberately poison their bodies, and people who passively inhale smoke become victims of the bad habit of their loved ones much more often than they themselves.
Tobacco smoke is especially dangerous for developing organisms. Oh him harmful influence thousands have been written on children and pregnant women scientific works. In addition to the problems that adults are prone to, children have a number of specific diseases.
A pregnant woman who passively smokes has a high chance of miscarriage or the birth of a premature or underdeveloped child. The fetus's nervous system suffers gastrointestinal tract and respiratory tract.
Smoke above a baby's crib helps slow it down mental development. Such children more often become asthmatics, and already in early age they are diagnosed with stomach ulcers.
Due to damage to the central nervous system, problems with walking and other motor operations arise. Therefore, children and passive smoking are incompatible concepts if parents need a healthy baby.
The accumulation of smoke in a confined space causes passive smoking. It is almost impossible to inhale dangerous smoke outdoors because it dissipates quickly.
In order not to endanger loved ones, you should avoid smoking in rooms. At the legislative level in most countries it is prohibited to smoke any tobacco products in public places.
At home, it is recommended to go out onto the balcony or onto the street. If this is not possible, you should smoke open window or a window, and then ventilate the room well. Never create a draft to get rid of smoke. Air currents, on the contrary, can draw it into other rooms where non-smokers are located.
Due to the proven harm of tobacco smoke both for smokers and for others, a device called an “electronic cigarette” was developed. The principle of its operation is simple: nicotine-containing liquid evaporates on the heating element, forming steam. It acts as a substitute for tobacco smoke.
Passive smoking from electronic cigarettes is unlikely, since the vapor is not very thick and, when exhaled, immediately dissipates into the air. To fill a closed room with it, you need to make a lot of effort.
There is still some debate regarding the overall safety of smoking these devices. Some say that the vapor contains only nicotine without harmful impurities. Others argue that, when burned, nioctine-containing liquid forms equally dangerous carcinogens. But from the point of view of passive smoking, this method is much safer.
In addition to tobacco, people have learned to smoke other plants. Marijuana is perhaps the most popular among them. In many countries, its smoking is prohibited as consumption. narcotic substances. In the USA it is prescribed as a medicine for cataracts. Holland is known for allowing smoking of this soft drug.
Despite this, marijuana is smoked in all countries. And at the same time you can observe her passive smoking. All harmful effects Scientists also observe cannabinoids on the body under the condition of second-hand smoke inhalation: psychotropic intoxication and blood contamination with harmful substances.
And in Germany, one driver was even deprived driver's license, although he claimed that the presence of cannabinoids in the blood was caused by second-hand smoke from marijuana. Therefore, inhaling any smoke is potentially dangerous for non-smokers.
Answers to the question: “Why is passive smoking dangerous?” - jeopardize a huge industry - the tobacco industry. The number of smokers is decreasing every year. Therefore, tobacco companies come up with propaganda materials that make smoking fashionable.
They especially rebelled against the popularization of electronic cigarettes and other methods of saturating the body with nicotine.
But every sane person will agree that inhaling any smoke is unsafe for the body. A handsome man with a cigarette in your mouth - this is not the standard you should look up to.
More than once there will be reports that the harm of passive smoking is exaggerated. Although it can be said with certainty that giving up cigarettes is the healthiest option for the body. In addition, it also has material benefits: saving money through expensive tobacco products.
Even if you don’t smoke, you will in any case be surrounded by tobacco smoke, since there is always someone nearby who smokes: a neighbor, partner, colleague, relative or friend.
Who is a passive smoker? When someone smokes or uses an e-cigarette (or vape), not all of the smoke or vapor reaches the lungs. Most of the smoke remains in the air, which is inhaled by those who are nearby, and affects the body of this person, who is a passive smoker.
Of course, smoking in public places is prohibited, but many non-smokers are exposed to secondhand smoke, especially children whose parents smoke. Even if an active smoker worries about his loved ones and carefully chooses a place to smoke, sometimes this does not protect against the harm and risks of passive smoking.
What is more harmful - active or passive smoking? In short, passive smoking is not only the inhalation of air that contains smoldering products from cigarettes, cigars, hookahs or electronic cigarettes. It's not just tobacco smoke or vapor that you can smell or see.
Tobacco smoke contains thousands of toxic and carcinogenic chemical compounds, including more than 300, including cyanide, DDT (an insecticide banned for use in many countries due to the fact that it can accumulate in the body of animals and humans), ammonia, formaldehyde, hydrogen cyanide, arsenic, benzene, vinyl chloride, acetone, sulfur, saltpeter, carbon monoxide and many others that cause diseases, including lung cancer and other types of cancer, as well as diseases of the heart, blood vessels, and nervous system.
Tobacco smoke contains dangerous chemical compounds, which are so microscopic that they are absorbed not only into the skin, but also into fabric, clothing, walls, and furniture. Moreover, they accumulate and remain there for a long time. It is for this reason smoking people It is not recommended to smoke indoors, inside your own apartment or car. All these chemicals can cause respiratory irritation, allergic reactions and lead to poor health, especially affecting children.
Vapor from electronic cigarettes, even though it contains less dangerous chemicals, is also dangerous, since most electronic nicotine delivery systems (disposable electronic cigarettes, vapes, electronic inhalers) contain nicotine, which is a drug and at the same time very poisonous. It primarily affects the nervous system and immunity. Lethal dose for an adult is less than 0.5 mg. Of course, its toxic substance is dangerous in any quantity and immediately causes harm to the human body.
Artificial flavors pose a significant danger. They contain chemicals, which may pose a risk to lovers of electronic gadgets and people around them. These are diacetyl, acetoin and 2,3-pentanedione.
Diacetyl is used as an oil flavor substitute in foods. It was he who became the reason for the development of bronchiolitis obliterans. This disease was previously discovered in employees of a company that produces popcorn, after which this disease was called “popcorn disease.”
Research shows that in Russia more than 400 thousand people die every year from smoking cigarettes, including about a third of non-smokers who were exposed to second-hand smoke. How harmful is passive smoking?
Smoke makes your blood more viscous, raises your "bad" cholesterol and damages blood vessels and tiny capillaries. This in turn increases the risk of having a stroke or heart attack. The lungs of a passive smoker are also contaminated with harmful substances.
Passive smoking, like active smoking, is dangerous for the unborn baby during pregnancy. These risks are primarily associated with premature birth, low weight, sudden infant death syndrome, cognitive impairment and learning difficulties.
Smoking is social problem!
Alexander Fomin, a former smoker with 18 years of experience, is the first licensed specialist and chief consultant of the Allen Carr Center in the Russian Federation. Helped more than 10,000 compatriots quit smoking once and for all. He has 9 years of practice using the Allen Carr method and has successfully trained several new therapists in this method. He took part in editing and dubbing books in the series “ The Easy Way» publishing house "Good Book".
An extremely common misconception is that the smoker’s problems are solely his problem. Maybe if a smoker smokes alone or in the company of his “like-minded people” in the open air, away from non-smokers. However, in most cases, others are exposed to second-hand smoke, especially family members smoking at home in the kitchen, in the toilet, and even in living rooms.
Let's present the facts and consider the consequences of passive smoking.
The idea that habits that negatively affect a person’s health are his personal business is deeply flawed. That's why preventive medicine, despairing of results educational work In the fight against unhealthy habits, people are increasingly turning to administrative measures. In recent years, more and more information has emerged that so-called passive or forced smoking (inhalation of air contaminated with tobacco smoke) contributes to the development of diseases characteristic of smokers in non-smokers. Pollution environment smokers quite significantly. The risks associated with forced smoking and exposure to tobacco smoke containing thousands of chemicals are undoubtedly high. A lit cigarette, during its “short life,” produces a side stream of smoke (in addition to the main stream that smokers enjoy), which affects others who are forced to passively smoke and inhale harmful substances.
It is of interest to determine the dose inhaled during passive smoking components smoke. In table Figure 1 shows some of the components of tobacco smoke inhaled during active and passive smoking.
Table 1
The data presented indicate that a passive smoker, being in a room with active smokers for one hour, inhales a dose of some gaseous components of tobacco smoke that is equivalent to smoking half a cigarette. However, the dose of inhaled solid particles, including tar, is somewhat less and corresponds to smoking 0.1 part of a cigarette.
J. Repace and A. Lowrey (1980) concluded that non-smokers currently inhale up to 14 mg of highly carcinogenic substances contained in tobacco smoke, retaining them in the lungs for 70 days. They further indicate that indoor tobacco aerosol appears to be a major source of inhalable particles. These authors found that indoor tobacco smoke concentrations were directly proportional to smoking intensity and inversely proportional to ventilation efficiency. Ventilation efficiency increases by replacing polluted indoor air with fresh air from outside, adsorption of tobacco aerosol on surfaces, a highly efficient filtration system and high degree speed of introduction into the room fresh air.
Toxic substances contained in tobacco smoke are inhaled by smokers. Most of it is released into the air during pauses in smoking, which are usually longer than the moment of inhalation. These substances are also inhaled during forced smoking. For example, the side stream of smoke contains 3.4 times more benzo(a)pyrene than the main stream. In smoky rooms the content of benz(a)pyrene is higher than in clean outdoor air. Carcinogenic substances differ from other poisons in that individual partial doses are summed up with virtually no losses until critical threshold values are reached. Due to this cumulative effect of carcinogens, in this case there are no so-called MAC values (maximum permissible concentrations in the workplace), so the task is to completely remove them. Carcinogenic nitrosamines deserve special attention in this regard. In the side stream of tobacco smoke, the concentrations of volatile nitrosamines are 50-100 times higher than in the main stream. The most dangerous of these compounds is dimethylnitrosamine. No animal species can resist its carcinogenic effects. It mainly affects the liver and lungs. This was discovered quite recently with the help of new chemical research methods. If nitrosamines were not found in residential premises where there is no smoking, then nitrosamines were found in workplaces and institutions where there is a lot of tobacco smoke in the air. If any device or mechanism, during its operation, released the same amount of carcinogens as are inhaled by millions of passive smokers, its operation would be immediately banned.
A study of the phenomenon of “passive smoking” was carried out in France, the USA and other countries. As a result, a negative effect on non-smoking components of tobacco smoke (carbon monoxide, nicotine, aldehydes, acrolein, etc.) was established. The influence of these substances on the composition of the blood, urine and nervous system of a passive smoker has been revealed. Particularly harmful is carbon monoxide, which, as previously noted, when penetrating through the lungs into the blood, firmly binds to hemoglobin, preventing the delivery of oxygen to tissues. Typically, the content of carboxyhemoglobin formed in human blood ranges from 0.4 to 1%. According to WHO, the limit of its content is 4%. An increase in carboxyhemoglobin concentration to 16-20% can cause death in patients with cardiovascular diseases, and up to 67-70% in practically healthy individuals. G. Grimmer et al. (1977) found that when smoking in a room with an area of 36 m2, an increase in the content of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide concentrations in the air.
Experts have calculated that the harm of passive smoking corresponds to the harmful effects of smoking 1 cigarette every 5 hours and after 10-15 minutes it can cause profuse lacrimation: in 14% of non-smokers - a short-term deterioration in visual acuity and in 19% - increased secretion of mucus from the nose. Staying for 8 hours in an enclosed area where people smoke leads to exposure to tobacco smoke equivalent to smoking more than 5 cigarettes.
It has now been proven that passive smoking is important factor risk of development lung cancer. At the same time, a statistically significant dependence on the time spent in smoky rooms was established, since the side stream of smoke contains a higher concentration of the carcinogen dimethylnitrosamine than the main stream inhaled by an active smoker.
The problem of secondhand smoke became acute twenty years ago when T. Hirayama (1982) reported data from a 14-year prospective study of 91,540 nonsmoking Japanese women regarding standardized lung cancer mortality rates as a function of their husbands' smoking. Women whose husbands smoked less than a pack of cigarettes per day or more than a pack of cigarettes had 1.5 and 2 times the risk of developing lung cancer, respectively, than women whose husbands did not smoke. This risk increased to 4.6 for wives of farmworkers aged 40 to 58 who smoked more than a pack of cigarettes per day. Roughly similar results were obtained in a 5-year retrospective study of more than 300 Greek women commissioned by the Greek Ministry of Health. It turned out that in non-smoking women whose husbands smoked up to 20 cigarettes a day, the risk of developing lung cancer was 2.4, and when smoking more than 20 cigarettes a day - 3.4, compared with wives of non-smoking husbands.
Knoth A. et al. (1983), having examined patients with bronchocarcinoma in Germany, found that 61.5% of sick women themselves did not smoke, but were exposed to tobacco smoke at home. Based on this, the authors conclude that the development of bronchocarcinoma in women is associated with passive smoking. It is typical that the likelihood of developing lung cancer in women increases sharply if they themselves smoke at least 2-3 cigarettes a day. The risk of developing lung cancer in children depends on their parents' smoking, with maternal smoking having a greater influence.
A generalization of the results of various studies on the effect of passive smoking on the development of lung cancer was carried out by E.L. Wynder and M/T. Goodman (1983).
Other studies have found that increased levels of carbon monoxide from passive smoking contribute to the development of angina in patients with coronary artery disease. This level of CO also leads to more rapid development shortness of breath in patients with chronic hypoxic lung damage. With passive smoking, the level of carboxyhemoglobin can increase from 1 to 2%, while with active smoking it ranges from 5 to 11%.
J. White and H. Froeb (1981) studied the long-term results of smoking and passive smoking in 5210 middle-aged individuals, of whom 2208 were excluded due to previous lung disease. Functional studies (FEW - forced expiratory air flow) made it possible to establish that the best indicators were in non-smokers who were in a smoke-free room, followed by passive smokers, smokers who did not inhale tobacco smoke, non-intensive smokers and, finally, heavy smokers. Dangers exist not only for individual families, but also for the population as a whole, for non-smoking wives smoking husbands, for children whose parents smoke, and if you look at things more broadly, then for the fetus in the womb. Physiological processes in the fetus’s body are disrupted, its heart rate increases, since placental blood flow decreases in a smoking mother. After birth, a child exposed to tobacco smoke pays with respiratory dysfunction and other consequences mentioned above.
R. Rona et al. (1981) showed that child growth is significantly affected by exposure to tobacco smoke at home, especially if two or more people smoke in the family and if the mother smoked during pregnancy. Bronchitis and pneumonia in children develop more often during the first year of life if their parents smoke. A small child is much less protected from passive smoking than an adult. In families of smokers, children living in the same room with smoking parents are twice as likely to develop respiratory diseases compared to children whose parents smoke in a separate room, or children whose parents do not smoke.
A study conducted in New Zealand showed that the incidence of bronchitis and pneumonia during the first year of life in cases of heavy smoking by mothers increased by 7-21% compared with children of non-smokers. The observed correlation was limited primarily to the first year of life.
The results of studies of the health of school-aged children in relation to parental smoking are less certain, although there is evidence of the influence of maternal smoking on respiratory diseases in children and adolescents.
A. Bergman and L. Wiesner (1976) note the impact of passive smoking on children, including an increased incidence of respiratory infections in children of smoking mothers. The authors studied 56 families who lost children due to sudden death, 86 families served as controls. Mothers of deceased children smoked during pregnancy in 61% of cases and after pregnancy in 59% of cases.
I Tager et al. (1979) in a study of 444 children aged 5 to 9 years found that parental smoking caused a decrease in pulmonary function.
As H. Remmer (1983) points out, if exposure to tobacco smoke begins in early childhood, then the likelihood of developing lung cancer in the future increases. M. Kraemer et al. (1983) consider passive smoking as a risk factor in the development of inflammatory lesions of the middle ear in children.
When children are exposed to tobacco smoke, there is an increase in blood pressure and increased heart rate. Respiratory system disorders in preschool children due to passive smoking were found by J. Dutan et al. (1978).
J. White and H. Froeb (1980) concluded that chronic exposure to tobacco smoke in the work environment is harmful to nonsmokers and significantly reduces small airway function at the level of smokers smoking 1 to 10 cigarettes per day.
It has been established that the state of excitement and irritability in passive smokers is significantly associated with exposure to tobacco smoke. The mucous membrane of the nose and eyes is especially sensitive to irritation, in particular with increasing contamination of the room with toxic products of tobacco smoke. Changes in psychomotor functions, especially attention and the ability to assimilate knowledge, were noted.
C. Barad (1979) studied the symptomatic effect of passive smoking in a population group of more than 10 thousand non-smoking employees. More than 50% of non-smokers reported some difficulty working around smokers and 36% said that they were forced to leave their jobs due to second-hand smoke, and 30% of non-smokers were hindered by tobacco smoke from working. As for clinically detectable symptoms, 48% of non-smokers complained of irritation of the mucous membranes of the eyelids (conjunctivitis), 35% - of irritation of the nasal mucosa, 30% - of coughing, dry throat and sneezing, about 5% - of exacerbation of previous pulmonary lesions, 3% - for worsening cardiovascular diseases and 10% claimed that they were allergic to tobacco smoke. It should be borne in mind that the effective ventilation rate of rooms is reduced when contaminated air is recirculated in them, the rate of introduction of fresh air is low and the presence of various obstacles to air circulation. As G. Repar (1981) points out, in buildings under construction, due to austerity policies implemented by construction firms in the United States, the average level of tobacco smoke in both naturally ventilated and mechanically ventilated buildings increases, which is harmful to health people due to passive smoking.
An alternative approach to controlling indoor air pollution is to reduce the intensity of the source of pollution, regulate the production of tobacco products, etc.
The World Health Organization has recommended that greater efforts be made to ban smoking in public places, and that epidemiological studies on smoking include consideration of passive smoking. In passing, we note that the tobacco lobby in capitalist countries denies the existence of strong evidence that passive smoking causes significant harm to health. Thus, passive smoking also causes significant damage to the health of the population, leading to essentially the same pathological manifestations that active smoking leads to.
Statistics have shown that smoking will kill about half of those who start smoking in adolescence and will continue to smoke throughout life. Forty years of epidemiological studies in several countries have found that smoking kills about half of persistent smokers who started the habit as teenagers, half of them before they reach age 70. Most people know that tobacco is dangerous, but few, even among health professionals, realize just how dangerous it really is. Recent US studies have shown that in a group of American boys aged 15, tobacco is predicted to kill three times as many of them before they reach age 70 as drugs, homicide, suicide, AIDS, road traffic accidents and alcohol combined. In the Russian Federation, in a group of a thousand 20-year-old smokers who will smoke throughout their lives, we can expect that by the age of 70, one of them will be killed, nine will die in road accidents, and 250 will be killed by smoking . These 250 people who die from smoking will lose about 22 years of their life expectancy. And another 250 people will die from tobacco-related diseases after age seventy. In 1990, in developed countries, smoking accounted for 35% of all deaths among men in middle age (35-69 years).
I don’t think that smokers themselves want to be included in these statistics, but in order not to end up there, to their great regret, they need to give up tobacco once and for all. And for those who have not yet gotten used to this crap, and especially have not started smoking, think about how long they are going to live in this world. If the number turns out to be higher than the above, smoking is not their occupation.
“I personally quit, I don’t smoke, I’m cheerful and full of strength. I thank my dear Ministry of Health for warning me. Oh, Ressi, forgive me for the sad pun: From now on we’ll call it a smoking break!”
Problems of restriction and prohibition of smoking
Tobacco addiction is a conscious choice of the smoker, who has every right to do with the body at his own discretion. However, most addicts poison not only themselves, but also the people around them, who are forced to breathe carbon monoxide, ammonia, cyanide and other products of cigarette combustion. What dangers does passive smoking pose and ways to limit yourself from dangerous influence tobacco smoke is discussed in this article.
Passive smoking is intoxication of the body due to involuntary inhalation of air saturated with tobacco smoke. A smoker's lungs absorb no more than 20% harmful substances released during the smoldering of a cigarette, the rest is distributed directly around the source. One of the most dangerous elements released during a smoldering cigarette is carbon monoxide, but tobacco smoke includes a number of other equally dangerous components, such as:
Nicotine and carbon monoxide Cigarettes spread in the air around a smoker in the same way, so people in the same room with him will be forced to receive an equally large portion of toxic substances. A hookah or cigar produces smoke in large quantities, and therefore the harm from them for a non-smoker is higher.
A “side” stream that occurs during the combustion of tobacco, in contrast to the main one:
After the cigarette has been smoked, not only the smoker himself, but also all people present in the room continue to breathe poisoned air for a certain time (depending on ventilation). Even if you smoke in close proximity to a window or an open vent, a lack of oxygen, an excess of carbon monoxide and other highly toxic substances and compounds will form inside.
A passive smoker suffers serious damage to his own health, so he has the right to demand that an active smoker continue to smoke himself away from passers-by
This is important! If a non-smoker smells tobacco smoke at a bus stop or any other public place, he has every reason to ask the smoker to stop poisoning the surrounding area and move to a place where his habit will not disturb strangers.
The harm of passive smoking is underestimated by many, and has a very destructive effect on people free from tobacco addiction. Scientists have long established a close relationship between passive smoking and the occurrence of diseases of the following organs:
Data from one authoritative English publication devoted to medical issues provide the following information: a person forced to spend a lot of time in a room where people constantly smoke loses visual acuity and is at high risk of developing diseases of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. Tars and a number of compounds present in tobacco smoke have the ability to accumulate in tissues, and their complete removal from the body requires a long period of time.
The consequences of passive smoking look very depressing. A person who regularly stays in the same room with tobacco smokers may develop the following diseases:
If a woman is in a room with a smoker during any trimester of pregnancy, her likelihood of miscarriage increases significantly. premature birth And various violations in fetal development. Systematic intoxication of the expectant mother with tobacco smoke has the most negative impact on the health of the child, who has high risks occurrence of hyperactivity, anxiety, depressive states and numerous health problems.
The harm of passive smoking is underestimated by many, and absolutely in vain
This is interesting! A person who is in the same room as a smoker consumes about a third of cigarettes through passive smoking. Statistics claim that 10% of patients who died from diseases caused by systematic tobacco smoke poisoning were not among the people suffering from addiction.
Passive smoking and its impact on health have not been fully studied by scientists at the moment, but the danger of a non-smoking person being in a smoky room is undeniable. The following facts will be of interest to both smokers and people forced to spend time in their company:
Smoke remains for a long time not only in clothes, but also in hair, while tobacco tars and poisons worsen their structure and have a poisonous effect on the entire body. Despite the fact that being in a room where you consume an aromatic tobacco mixture through a hookah is more pleasant than in an ordinary smoking room, the harm from such passive smoking does not become less.
Children living in families of smokers are characterized by reduced immunity and an increased tendency to catch colds and allergic diseases. Regular intoxication of a child with nicotine and combustion products of tobacco leads to problems with the respiratory and nervous system.
Passive smoking is addictive, so we can say with a high degree of probability that a teenager living surrounded by smokers will reach for a cigarette very early. Women forced to spend time surrounded by cigarette smoke worsen their condition reproductive system, and the ovarian tissue becomes critically thin.
For men who do not suffer from nicotine addiction, you should also not be in the same room with smokers, since carbon monoxide and tars not only cause instant poisoning, but also negatively affect the functioning of the prostate gland and organs of the genitourinary system. Pregnancy and any type of smoking (including passive smoking) are completely incompatible concepts.
Tobacco smoke surrounding expectant mother, leads to a decrease in head circumference and chest in the fetus and row dangerous violations V further development child. Most cases congenital disease atypical dermatitis is associated specifically with maternal passive smoking. If a woman breastfeeds in a smoky room, a significant portion of the neurotoxic substances penetrates into the body. digestive tract baby.
Smokers who do not want to give up their own addiction need to completely protect their children from tobacco smoke
Children growing up in families where one or both parents are smokers get sick several times more often than their peers raised in families that adhere to healthy image life. In addition, the child learns early what a cigarette is, and in the future this can push him to imitate his parents and begin a strong nicotine addiction.
Teenagers who become part of the ranks of passive smokers are significantly more likely to suffer from tooth decay, vision problems, lack of body weight and various nervous system disorders, such as deterioration in memory and learning abilities.
Why is passive smoking more harmful than active smoking? Many scientists believe that being in the company of smokers can have the most negative consequences for the condition of different organs, namely:
According to medical statistics, every year tens of thousands of children forced to be in the company of smoking adults develop asthma.
Each cigarette contains several thousand various substances and compounds, the vast majority of which are among the most dangerous poisons and toxins. They provoke hearing and memory deterioration, visual impairment, as well as critical damage to the central nervous system and nerve cells.
A person who is in the company of smokers absorbs poison both through the respiratory tract and through skin, which affects his condition. The skin of passive smokers appears dry and wrinkled, and characteristic circles appear under the eyes.
