Quote:
from the BBC Nov. 03
Q&A: Passive smoking
Tobacco smoke contains many chemicals
A group of leading doctors has called for a total ban on smoking in public places.
They are concerned about the health effects of passive smoking. BBC News Online examines the evidence.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What is passive smoking?
Simply, breathing in other people's tobacco smoke. This is made up of "sidestream" smoke from the burning tip of the cigarette, and "mainstream" smoke that has been inhaled and then exhaled by the smoker. Sidestream smoke accounts for nearly 85% of the smoke in a room.
What's in the smoke?
Tobacco smoke contains over 4000 chemicals in the form of particles and gases. The particulate phase includes tar, nicotine, benzene and benzo(a)pyrene. The gas phase includes carbon monoxide, ammonia, dimethylnitrosamine, formaldehyde, hydrogen cyanide and acrolein. It has been estimated that tobacco smoke contains as many as 60 substances which cause - or are suspected of causing - cancer. And many irritate the tissues of the respiratory system. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the USA has classified environmental tobacco smoke as a class A carcinogen - ranking it alongside asbestos and arsenic.
What effect does it have on the passive smoker?
Breathing in other people's smoke can cause eye irritation, headache, cough, sore throat, dizziness and nausea. Just 30 minutes exposure can be enough to reduce blood flow through the heart. There is also evidence to show that people with asthma can experience a significant decline in lung function when exposed. Whether or not passive smoking can trigger new cases of asthma is a hotly debated issue.
What about in the longer term?
Non-smokers who are exposed to passive smoking in the home, have a 25% increased risk of heart disease and lung cancer. A major review by the Government-appointed Scientific Committee on Tobacco and Health (SCOTH) concluded that passive smoking is a cause of lung cancer and ischaemic heart disease in adult non-smokers, and a cause of respiratory disease, cot death, middle ear disease and asthmatic attacks in children. There is also some evidence to suggest that passive smoking may affect children's mental development. A US study found deficits in reading and reasoning skills among children even at low levels of smoke exposure. However, it is true that the health risks of breathing in other people's tobacco smoke are much smaller than those posed by actually smoking. And the pro-smoking lobby, including the campaigning group FOREST, argue that the case against passive smoking has never been properly proved. They point to a study by the University of California published in the British Medical Journal earlier this year which found that the link between environmental tobacco smoke and coronary heart disease and lung cancer may be considerably weaker than generally believed.
How widespread is passive smoking?
Of course, anybody who regularly frequents pubs or bars is inevitably going to breathe in a significant amount of tobacco smoke. However, a survey by the anti-smoking charity ASH in 1999 found that about 3 million people in the UK are exposed to passive smoke at work. And it is also estimated that almost half of all children in the UK are exposed to tobacco smoke at home. One study found that in households where both parents smoke, young children have a 72% increased risk of respiratory illnesses. Research also shows that children whose parents smoke in the home are more likely to be admitted to hospital for bronchitis and pneumonia in the first year of life. More than 17,000 children under the age of five are admitted to hospital every year because of the effects of passive smoking.
What do other countries do?
Banning smoking in public places is a highly controversial move, which has been resisted by the UK government so far. However, some countries, including Ireland, Turkey and Norway, have accepted that a ban is the only way to tackle the problem of smoking effectively.
However small the effects on non-smokers may be, they aren't negligeable. And as long as that is the case I'd say restrict smoking to the private areas or designated smoke areas.