Steer Clear of Smoke

(MS) - Did you know that you could be inhaling more than 4,000 chemicals at home or on school grounds on a regular basis? If you breathe in secondhand smoke you're being exposed to a host of dangerous chemicals. Of the thousands of chemicals in cigarette, cigar and pipe smoke, 60 are known to be carcinogenic (cancer-causing). Secondhand smoke, also called environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), contains ingredients you'd be likely to find in a chemistry lab: formaldehyde, arsenic, cadmium, benzene, and ethylene oxide to name a few.

Secondhand smoke comes in two forms: sidestream smoke and mainstream smoke. Sidestream smoke is the smoke that wafts from the burning tobacco product. Mainstream smoke is the smoke that is exhaled. Both types have enough chemicals to cause dangerous consequences. Check out the statistics:

According to The Mayo Clinic, experts believe that secondhand smoke is to blame for roughly 3,000 deaths from lung cancer in adult nonsmokers each year in the United States. Secondhand smoke is also linked to cancer of the nasal sinuses. The dangerous particles given off in secondhand smoke can linger in the air for hours. Even inhaling them for 20 to 30 minutes can be unhealthy in a variety of ways. And breathing in secondhand smoke over time can be all the more dangerous.

The American Lung Association reports that children who breathe secondhand smoke are more likely to suffer from pneumonia, bronchitis, and other lung diseases. Additionally, they have more ear infections and are more likely to develop asthma. There are an estimated 150,000 to 300,000 cases every year of infections such as bronchitis and pneumonia in infants and children under 18 months of age who breathe secondhand smoke. These result in between 7,500 and 15,000 hospitalizations, according to the California Environmental Protection Agency's report on Health Effects of Exposure to ETS, September 1997.

Protect Yourself

Here are a few steps you can take to safeguard your health.

· Dine in smoke-free restaurants or those that adequately vent away smoke in smoking areas.

· Ask those who enter your house not to smoke.

· Don't carpool with friends who frequently smoke in the car.

· Avoid bars and clubs where smoking is allowed.

· Don't smoke. Secondhand smoke is bad, but firsthand smoke is even worse.

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