Hazards of Passive Smoking

Some of the immediate effects of passive smoking include eye irritation, headache, cough, sore throat, dizziness and nausea. Adults with asthma can experience a significant decline in lung function when exposed, while new cases of asthma may be induced in children whose parents smoke.

Passive smoking also is a cause of lung cancer and ischemic heart disease in adult non-smokers, and a cause of respiratory disease, cot death, middle ear disease and asthmatic attacks in children.

Inhalation of passive smoke by healthy individuals and those with pre-existing respiratory disease commonly causes acute irritant effects in the upper and, to a lesser extent, the lower respiratory tracts. There is sufficient data to indicate that asthmatics may suffer significant acute effects following exposure to passive smoke. However, there is insufficient evidence to assess the effects of passive smoking upon susceptible individuals who have airways hyper-reactivity but who are not clinically asthmatic.

Passive smoking may also increase the risk of occurrence of lung cancer. For children, the developing lungs of young children are also affected by exposure to secondhand smoke. Infants and young children whose parents smoke are among the most seriously affected by exposure to secondhand smoke, with an increased risk of lower respiratory tract infections such as pneumonia and bronchitis. Children exposed to secondhand smoke are also more likely to have reduced lung function and symptoms of respiratory irritation like cough, excess phlegm, and wheeze. Passive smoking can also lead to buildup of fluid in the middle, the most common cause of hospitalization children for an operation. Asthmatic children who are exposed to secondhand smoke have their condition made worse.