What is smoke?
Smoke is a collection of airborne solid and liquid particulates and gases emitted when a material undergoes combustion or pyrolysis, together with the quantity of air that is entrained or otherwise mixed into the mass. It is commonly an unwanted by-product of fires (including stoves, candles, oil lamps, and fireplaces), but may also be used for pest control (fumigation), communication (smoke signals), defensive and offensive capabilities in military engagements, cooking, or religious rituals. Smoke is used in mystical demonstrations of cloud Reproductionart.
Inclouding particulate matter in the form of soot, aerosols, tarballs, plant matter (pollen, funguses, spores) Smoke also contains small amounts of acids, which are known to be harmful to human health.
What is in cigarette smoke?
Cigarette smoke is made up of more than 7000 chemicals, including at least 70 that can cause cancer.1 Many of the harmful chemicals in tobacco smoke are also found in other common household products.2
Tobacco smoke contains harmful chemicals that are easily absorbed through the lungs into the bloodstream and affect almost every organ in the body.3 These harmful chemicals include:
-Nicotine: A highly addictive substance that increases blood pressure and heart rate, and constricts blood vessels.4
-Tar: A sticky mixture of carcinogens that deposits on smokers’ lungs, causing cancer and other respiratory diseases.5
-Carbon monoxide: A poisonous gas that reduces the amount of oxygen in the blood, causing heart disease.6
-Hydrogen cyanide: A poisonous gas that is used in chemical weapons.7
Inhaling even a small amount of tobacco smoke can be dangerous to your health.8 Secondhand smoke—smoke from burning tobacco products and exhaled smoke—is also dangerous.9 There is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke.10
How does cigarette smoke affect your health?
Cigarette smoking is the leading preventable cause of death in the United States. Cigarette smoking causes more than 480,000 deaths each year, including more than 41,000 deaths from cancer and nearly 34,000 deaths from heart disease.
Cigarette smoking is dangerous to your health because it:
-Causes cancer
-Increases your risk for heart disease and stroke
-Damages your lungs and other organs
-Affects your fertility and pregnancy
Smokers are also more likely to develop diseases such as pneumonia and tuberculosis.
What are the risks of secondhand smoke?
Secondhand smoke is the combination of smoke that comes from the burning end of a cigarette, pipe, or cigar, and the smoke breathed out by the smoker. It’s also called environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) or exposure to tobacco smoke.
Secondhand smoke contains more than 7,000 chemicals, including at least 70 that can cause cancer.1
Exposure to secondhand smoke has been linked to a number of health problems in adults and children, including:2-5
Cancers of the lung, breast, cervix, and bladder in adults
Lung cancer in children
Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)
Lower respiratory tract infections in young children
Asthma attacks in children
Ectopic pregnancy (pregnancy outside the womb)
Middle ear infections in children
Cataracts
Heart disease
short-term effects of secondhand smoke can include:6-8
Eye irritation
Coughing
Sore throat
Dizziness
Nausea
Long-term effects of secondhand smoke can include:9-11
Coronary heart disease
Lung cancer
Stroke
How can you protect yourself from secondhand smoke?
Secondhand smoke is the combination of smoke that comes from a cigarette and smoke breathed out by a smoker. It is harmful and contains more than 7,000 chemicals, including at least 70 that can cause cancer.
You can protect yourself from secondhand smoke by avoiding places where people are smoking, such as bars, nightclubs, and casinos. You can also ask people not to smoke around you, and to smoke outside if they must smoked.
