Is secondhand smoke really that harmful?
Secondhand smoke kills. The Government’s independent Scientific Committee on Tobacco and Health concluded after reviewing the available medical and scientific evidence in 2004 that exposure to secondhand smoke contributes to a range of serious medical conditions, including: • lung cancer • heart disease • asthma attacks • childhood respiratory disease • sudden infant death syndrome, and • reduced lung function In 2006, the US Surgeon General concluded that: • secondhand smoke causes premature death and disease in children and adults who do not smoke • children exposed to secondhand smoke are at an increased risk for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), acute respiratory infections, ear problems and more severe asthma.
In reviewing the evidence of the health risks from secondhand smoke, the Government’s independent Scientific Committee on Tobacco and Health concluded that exposure to secondhand smoke was a cause of a range of medical conditions, including: • lung cancer, • heart disease, • asthma attacks, • childhood respiratory disease, • sudden infant death syndrome, and • reduced lung function.
In reviewing the evidence of the health risks from secondhand smoke, the Government’s independent Scientific Committee on Tobacco and Health concluded that exposure to secondhand smoke was a cause of a range of medical conditions, including: • lung cancer, • heart disease, • asthma attacks, • childhood respiratory disease, • sudden infant death syndrome, and • reduced lung function.
