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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
- Health Risks of Secondhand Smoke (American Cancer Society) Also in Spanish
- Let's Make the Next Generation Tobacco-Free: Your Guide to the 50th Anniversary Surgeon General's Report on Smoking and Health (Department of Health and Human Services) - PDF
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Secondhand Smoke
(National Cancer Institute, Tobacco Control Research Branch)
- Secondhand Smoke (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
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Secondhand Smoke and Cancer
(National Cancer Institute)
Also in Spanish
- Secondhand Smoke and Electronic-Cigarette Aerosols (Environmental Protection Agency)
- Secondhand Smoke: What It Means to You (Surgeon General) - PDF
Prevention and Risk Factors
- BeTobaccoFree.gov (Department of Health and Human Services)
Related Issues
- Cancer and Tobacco Use (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Health Harms from Secondhand Smoke (Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids) - PDF
- Health Problems Caused by Secondhand Smoke (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- What is Thirdhand Smoke, and Why Is It a Concern? (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
Statistics and Research
- General Information about Secondhand Smoke (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
Clinical Trials
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Tobacco Smoke Pollution
(National Institutes of Health)
Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
Find an Expert
Teenagers
- Secondhand Smoke (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
Women
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How Smoking Harms Your Child
(National Cancer Institute, Tobacco Control Research Branch)
Patient Handouts
- Smoking and asthma (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish