Secondhand Smoke

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Basics

• Summary
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• Prevention and Risk Factors

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• Related Issues

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Research

• Statistics and Research
• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

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Summary

Secondhand smoke is a mixture of the smoke that comes from the burning end of a cigarette, cigar, or pipe, and the smoke breathed out by the smoker. It contains more than 7,000 chemicals. Hundreds of those chemicals are toxic and about 70 can cause cancer.

Health effects of secondhand smoke include:

• Ear infections in children
• More frequent and severe asthma attacks in children
• Heart disease and lung cancer in adults who have never smoked

There is no safe amount of secondhand smoke. Even low levels of it can be harmful. The only way to fully protect nonsmokers from secondhand smoke is not to allow smoking indoors.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Start Here

• About Secondhand Smoke (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Health Risks of Secondhand Smoke (American Cancer Society) Also in Spanish
• Secondhand Smoke (National Cancer Institute, Tobacco Control Research Branch)
• Secondhand Smoke and Cancer (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
• Secondhand Smoke and Electronic-Cigarette Aerosols (Environmental Protection Agency)
• Secondhand Tobacco Smoke (Environmental Tobacco Smoke) (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish

Prevention and Risk Factors

• Preventing Exposure to Secondhand Smoke in the Home (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Related Issues

• Health Harms from Secondhand Smoke (Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids) - PDF
• Health Problems Caused by Secondhand Smoke (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• How Long Do the Harmful Elements of Secondhand Smoke/Aerosol Linger Indoors? (Environmental Protection Agency)
• Is Outdoor Exposure to Secondhand Smoke/Aerosol Comparable to Indoors? (Environmental Protection Agency)
• Tobacco Smoke, Vaping, and Asthma (Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America)
• What Can I Do about Secondhand Smoke/Aerosol Exposure Coming From My Neighbor's Apartment? (Environmental Protection Agency)
• What is Thirdhand Smoke, and Why Is It a Concern? (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish

Statistics and Research

• Secondhand Smoke Exposure (National Cancer Institute)
• Trends and Disparities in Secondhand Smoke (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Tobacco Smoke Pollution (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Comprehensive Smoke-Free Laws and Cardiovascular Disease Mortality in US Counties.
• Article: Antenatal environmental exposure to indoor air pollution and environmental tobacco smoke:...
• Article: Using In-Home Air Quality Monitoring to Reduce Cannabis Secondhand Smoke Exposure...
• Secondhand Smoke -- see more articles

Find an Expert

• American Cancer Society
• American Lung Association
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Also in Spanish
• National Cancer Institute Also in Spanish

Children

• How Smoking Harms Your Child (National Cancer Institute, Tobacco Control Research Branch)

Teenagers

• Secondhand Smoke (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Patient Handouts

• Risks of tobacco (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Smoking and asthma (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Smoking and COPD (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish