Second Hand Smoking
Are You Tired Of Second Hand Smoking?
We have all been subject to second hand smoking, some of us without even knowing. The absence of a smoky smell does not necessarily mean that you are safe, as the elements and chemicals present in cigarettes and their smoke settle into clothing and linger in the air sometimes for days. You are privy to second hand smoking if you are subjected to smoke stacks, chimneys, chemical processing plants, factories, and exhaust from cars and airplanes as well. None of us are completely safe from toxic and unwanted inhalants, but by educating ourselves, we may stand a better chance of avoiding those elements which are unsafe.
Second hand smoking exposes us to class A carcinogens, which have been deemed by the FDA as cancer causing elements. These toxins are released whenever an emission is made from a smoker’s lungs, lit cigarette, ashtrays, linens, and the snuffed out ends of cigars, pipes, and cigarettes. They also include, but are not limited to, hydrogen cyanide, arsenic, ammonia, formaldehyde, benzene, and vinyl chloride. These are merely the chemicals and carcinogens passed for second hand smoking, after they have been filtered and converted by the lungs of the smoker.
Suppose you should decide to take a nice little second hand smoking trip to the non-smoking section of your favorite restaurant. From here, you do not always smell or see the smoke wafting in from the smoking section, and with all due respect most bar and restaurant operators are very careful these days about keeping us separated. However, as we discussed just a bit earlier, you do not to smell nor see it in order to be affected by it. Those exposed to second hand smoking in bars and restaurants are privy to elevations in class A carcinogens 5 times higher than those found in a smoker’s home, and up to 7 times higher than in an office or workplace which allows smoking. No matter how well ventilated and isolated those smokers are, if you are in the building, you are susceptible.
It is estimated that 430 cases of SIDS, or Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, per year are directly attributed to second hand smoke issues within the home or care facility. These little guys can’t take it, they are just too little and their lungs too fragile to filter and clear the toxins from their bodies. On this same subject, the American Medical Association has estimated that between 50 and 75 percent of children in America have detectible levels of cotinine in their blood streams, which is the element that nicotine becomes when converted by the human body. It all makes smoking seem just a bit too inconvenient, so if you haven’t started already, now may be the perfect time to just say no.