Secondhand Smoke Fact Sheet

What is Secondhand Smoke?

Secondhand smoke is a mixture of the smoke given off by the burning end of a cigarette, pipe, or cigar, and the smoke exhaled from the lungs of smokers.

This mixture contains more than 4,000 substances, more than 40 of which are known to cause cancer in humans or animals and many of which are strong irritants.

Secondhand smoke is also called environmental tobacco smoke (ETS); exposure to secondhand smoke is called involuntary smoking, or passive smoking.

Secondhand smoke has been classified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a known cause of lung cancer in humans (Group A carcinogen).

Passive smoking is estimated by EPA to cause approximately 3,000 lung cancer deaths in nonsmokers each year.

The developing lungs of young children are also affected by exposure to secondhand smoke.

Infants and young children whose parents smoke are among the most seriously affected by exposure to secondhand smoke, being at increased risk of lower respiratory tract infections such as pneumonia and bronchitis. EPA estimates that passive smoking is responsible for between 150,000 and 300,000 lower respiratory tract infections in infants and children under 18 months of age annually, resulting in between 7,500 and 15,000 hospitalizations each year.

Children exposed to secondhand smoke are also more likely to have reduced lung function and symptoms of respiratory irritation like cough, excess phlegm, and wheeze.

Passive smoking can lead to buildup of fluid in the middle ear, the most common cause of hospitalization of children for an operation.

Asthmatic children are especially at risk. EPA estimates that exposure to secondhand smoke increases the number of episodes and severity of symptoms in hundreds of thousands of asthmatic children. EPA estimates that between 200,000 and 1,000,000 asthmatic children have their condition made worse by exposure to secondhand smoke. Passive smoking may also cause thousands of non-asthmatic children to develop the condition each year.

About 9-12 million young children are regularly exposed to their parents’ cigarette smoke at home.  This translates into approximately one-fourth of American households with young children that allow smoking indoors.  The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) goal is to reduce this figure to 15% by 2005, in part by implementing a new outreach campaign.  The key message of the campaign is until you can quit, smoke outside for your kids.

Families need to protect themselves and their children from exposure to secondhand smoke!

In the Home & Vehicles:

Don't smoke in your house or vehicle or permit others to do so.

If a family member insists on smoking, ask them to please go outside the house or vehicle.

Do not smoke if children are present, particularly infants and toddlers. They are particularly susceptible to the effects of passive smoking.

Don't allow baby-sitters or others who work in your home to smoke in the house or near your children.

EPA recommends that every organization dealing with children have a smoking policy that effectively protects children from exposure to environmental tobacco smoke.

Find out about the smoking policies of your church or faith-based organization, day care providers, pre-schools, schools, and other caregivers for your children.

Help other parents understand the serious health risks to children from secondhand smoke. Work with church wellness committees/health ministries, parent/teacher associations, your school board and school administrators, community leaders, and other concerned citizens to make your child's environment smoke free.

Information adapted from the Environmental Protection Agency and Healthy Indoor Air for America’s Homes secondhand smoke information and provided by SC Department of Health and Environmental Control, Division of Tobacco Prevention and Control. (HOTL, HFD 2004)