Is Secondhand Smoke Harmful?
Secondhand smoke is a toxic cocktail of over 4000 chemicals, many of which are poisonous and/or carcinogenic. When we breathe in air tainted with cigarette smoke, those chemicals travel all over our bodies, affecting our health in negative ways. Smokers and nonsmokers alike share the potential for damage due to inhaling secondhand smoke. When a cigarette is smoked, about half of the smoke is inhaled / exhaled (mainstream smoke) by the smoker and the other half floats around in the air (sidestream smoke). Environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) plays a part in more health problems than you might realize. The following facts point out why it is so important to have smoking bans in place. No one should be forced to breathe in air tainted with cigarette smoke.
