Does secondhand smoke cause the same medical problems as direct tobacco smoke?
Nonsmokers, too, can be harmed by the smoke from other people’s cigarettes, pipes or cigars. This kind of smoke is called “environmental tobacco smoke” or “secondhand smoke.” It is the mixture of smoke exhaled by the smoker and the smoke that comes off the burning end of the cigarette, cigar or pipe between puffs. It contains thousands of chemicals that can harm both smokers and nonsmokers alike. Breathing in other people’s smoke can cause cancer and heart disease in adults. 5. Can smoking in a pregnant woman affect the health of her fetus? If a pregnant woman smokes or her partner smokes around her, she has a greater chance of having a baby that weighs too little. Her child may have more breathing problems during its first year of life and its lungs may not grow as fast as they should. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, in some cases, smoking during pregnancy may be associated with miscarriages and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), as well as learning and behavioral
