Secondhand Smoke

Q&A  •  What’s in Secondhand Smoke  •  Economic Impacts of Secondhand Smoke

Questions and Answers About Secondhand Smoke

Q: What is secondhand smoke?
A: When someone lights up a cigarette, cigar or pipe, they aren’t the only ones inhaling tobacco smoke. Other people in the vicinity of the smoker also inhale smoke in two forms ­ side stream smoke (from the end of the burning cigarette) and the smoke exhaled by the smoker. Together, these form secondhand smoke. Breathing secondhand smoke exposes nonsmokers to many of the same dangers inherent in smoking a cigarette, cigar or pipe. Secondhand smoke is also called passive smoke or environmental tobacco smoke (ETS).

Q: What kinds of health problems does secondhand smoke cause?
A: Secondhand smoke causes a myriad of health problems, and even death, in both children and adults. According to the Centers for Disease Control, secondhand smoke is the third leading cause of preventable death in the U.S., killing 63,000 nonsmokers each year. For every eight smokers killed by tobacco use, one non-smoker is killed too.

In Children:
Secondhand smoke increases the chance that a child will suffer from coughs and wheezing, bronchitis, asthma, pneumonia, potentially fatal lower respiratory tract infections, eye and ear problems, or injury or death from cigarette-caused fires. Each year in the United States, 280 children die from respiratory illnesses caused by secondhand smoke.

According to a 1997 study, exposure to secondhand smoke leads to over 500,000 physician visits for asthma and 1.3 million visits for coughs, and to more than 115,000 episodes of pneumonia, 14,000 tonsillectomies or adenoidectomies, and 260,000 episodes of bronchitis. Exposure to secondhand smoke also causes two million cases of otitis media among children (an acute or chronic inflammation of the middle ear) and results in 5,200 tympanostomies (middle ear operations).

In Adults:
In non-smoking adults, secondhand smoke exposure causes approximately 3,000 lung cancer deaths each year. About one-third of these deaths can be attributed to secondhand smoke exposure in the home and about two thirds to exposures that occur at work and in public places. In fact, workers exposed to secondhand smoke are 34 percent more likely to get lung cancer.

Consistent with prior reports, a recent study (Steenland et al., 1996) for the American Heart Association found that people who have never smoked, but were currently exposed to secondhand smoke have about 20 percent higher coronary heart death (CHD) rates. Secondhand smoke causes nearly a quarter million heart attacks a year, one-fourth of them fatal.

Q: What makes secondhand smoke so dangerous?
A: Tobacco smoke causes many chronic diseases and even death for smokers and non-smokers alike. That’s because it contains over 4,000 chemicals including formaldehyde, cyanide, arsenic, carbon monoxide, methane, benzene and radioactive polonium-210. Tobacco smoke contains 43 known human carcinogens.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has concluded that smoke-filled rooms may have up to six times the air pollution of a busy highway. And secondhand smoke inside a car can be more toxic than rush hour exhaust fumes.

Q: What is a carcinogen?
A: A carcinogen is any substance that is known to cause cancer. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services National Toxicology Program both classify secondhand tobacco smoke among the most dangerous, or Group A, carcinogens.

Q: Is there research that demonstrates the dangers of secondhand smoke?
A: There are thousands of research studies that show the dangers of secondhand smoke. These studies have been analyzed and summarized in several major reports, including:

1986 — The Health Consequences of Involuntary Smoking: A Report of the Surgeon General

1986 — National Research Council’s report entitled Environmental Tobacco Smoke: Measuring Exposure and Assessing Health Effects

1992 — U.S. EPA’s report entitled Respiratory Health Effects of Passive Smoking: Lung Cancer and Other Disorders

1997 — California Environmental Protection Agency report entitled Health Effects of Exposure to Environmental Tobacco Smoke

2000 — American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine position statement entitled Epidemiological Basis for an Occupational and Environmental Policy on Environmental Tobacco Smoke

Q: Where can I get more information about the dangers of secondhand smoke?
A: For more information about the dangers of secondhand smoke, visit www.tobaccofreeny.org.

Q: What can I do to protect myself and my family from the dangers of secondhand smoke?
A: You and your loved ones have a right to smoke-free environments. Smoking is a choice, but breathing is not! There are a number of simple actions you can take to protect yourself and your family from the free-floating poisons found in secondhand smoke:

• Insist on your legal right to a smoke-free workplace.
  
• Patronize only smoke-free facilities and let them know the reason behind your choice.
  
• Don’t suffer in silence. If secondhand smoke makes you uncomfortable or drives you out of a public place, let the management of the facility know why they are losing your patronage.
  
• Write or call your local and state government officials to let them know that you favor smoke-free legislation for public places and all workplaces.
  

 

What’s in Secondhand Smoke?

Tobacco smoke contains over 4,000 chemicals. Forty-three of these chemicals are known carcinogens, or cancer causing substances. Below are some of the familiar chemicals found in secondhand smoke.

CONTENTS OF SECONDHAND SMOKE
Chemical	Common Use
Tar	Used to Pave Roads
Acetone	Nail Polish Remover
Hydrogen Cyanide	Gas Chamber Poison
Acetic Acid	Vinegar
Methane	Sewer Gas
Ammonia	Floor/Toilet Cleaner
Methanol	Rocket Fuel
Arsenic	Poison
Naphthalene	Mothballs
Butane	Cigarette Lighter
Fluid Nicotine	Insecticide/Addictive Drug
Cadmium	Rechargeable Battery
Nitrobenzene	Gasoline Additive
Carbon Monoxide	Car Exhaust
Nitrous Oxide Phenols	Disinfectant
DDT/Dieldrin	Insecticides
Stearic Acid	Candle Wax
Ethanol	Alcohol
Toluene	Industrial Solvent
Formaldehyde	Preservative - Body Tissue & Fabric
Vinyl Chloride	Makes PVC2
Mercury	Poisonous element, used in thermometers
Lead	Poisonous material, banned in paints
Hexamine	Barbecue Lighter

 

The Economic Impacts of Secondhand Smoke

Smoke-Free Laws Do Not Harm Businesses
One of the common arguments used by opponents of smoke-free public policy is the myth that businesses, primarily restaurants and bars, would be negatively impacted by the loss of smoking customers. But objective measurements of economic performance such as taxable sales data and employment rates have consistently shown this concern to be unfounded. In all cases, measures of hospitality industry economic activity in communities with smoking bans are compared to nearby, demographically similar communities without smoking regulations. Repeatedly, no negative impact on the industry is found.

Independent, objective studies of communities from around the country, including several conducted in Erie County, N.Y. and New York City, show no signs of negative economic impact following the implementation of Clean Indoor Air laws. Findings from these studies include:

Nationwide:

• Taxable sales data from 81 localities in six states consistently demonstrate that community ordinances restricting smoking in restaurants have no effect on revenues compared to similar communities in the same states without ordinances .
  
• Massachusetts’ smoke-free policies have shown no substantial impact on aggregate restaurant sales. In addition, the adoption of a local smoke-free restaurant policy did not cause a statistically significant change in town taxable meal revenue.
  
• Studies in California and Colorado have shown that smoke-free ordinances do not effect restaurant and bar revenues.

In New York City:

• Peer reviewed studies of New York City’s smoke-free law show that it did not harm the restaurant industry. Further, no evidence was found that the hotel industry has been adversely effected by the smoke-free legislation.
  
• Restaurant employment growth was more than three times that of the rest of the state (17.6 percent versus 4.6 percent) two years prior to and two years following the implementation of the smoke-free law in 1995.
  
• The smoke-free law has not had any significant impact on dining out patterns among New York City diners.

In Erie County, N.Y.:

• Following the passage of Clean Indoor Air legislation, employment rates remained steady and experienced the normal seasonal fluctuations. Relative to neighboring counties that did not have smoking restrictions, Erie Country’s restaurant employment rates grew more quickly.

Secondhand Smoke is not a Burden to Businesses and Taxpayers
Although smoking bans do not effect restaurant revenues or the dining habits of patrons, a 1994 study conducted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) shows that everyone pays a high price for damages caused by secondhand smoke when smoking is allowed in public places. Secondhand smoke-related disease in the U.S. has an enormous economic impact. The EPA estimates that:

• If strict smoking bans were implemented in all workplaces (including bars and restaurants), the cost of treating illnesses associated with secondhand smoke would be reduced from $9.2 billion to $6.5 billion per year.
  
• If smoking were prohibited in all public buildings, except in separately ventilated smoking areas, the net benefit of savings over costs nationwide would range from $39 to $72 billion per year.

Smoke-Free Laws Help Businesses Cut Costs and Make a Profit
Smoking has long been intertwined with the American dining-out experience, but in reality, only half as many people smoke today as they did 40 years ago. And less than one in four (22 percent) of adults in New York State currently smoke . Many of the studies presented above demonstrate that no-smoking laws have not harmed restaurant revenues. It is apparent that increased patronage by nonsmokers easily compensates for any business lost by reluctant smokers.

• Employers with smoke-free policies see a decreased absenteeism among non-smoking employees. (Smokers are absent from work about 50 percent more often than non-smokers and take 30 percent more days off.)
  
• Employers with smoke-free policies see decreased housekeeping and maintenance costs.
  
• Employers with smoke-free policies see decreased insurance costs and smoking-related
• fires.

Join the Fight for Smoke-Free Workplaces and Public Places
Smoking is a choice, but breathing is not. We all deserve the right to clean air where we work and in all public places. There are a number of simple actions that you can take right now to help in the battle to restrict smoking in these environments:

• Insist on your legal right to a smoke-free workplace.
  
• Patronize only smoke-free facilities and let them know the reason behind your choice.
  
• Don’t suffer in silence! If secondhand smoke makes you uncomfortable or drives you out of a public place, let the management of the facility know why they are losing your patronage.
  
• Write or call your local and state government officials to let them know that you favor smoke-free legislation for public places and all workplaces. For more information on who your government officials are, please visit www.statelocalgov.net and click on New York State.