People who regularly breathe in second-hand smoke face an increased risk of developing smoke-related diseases as smokers (including lung cancer and heart disease, for example). If you have a young family, you may have considered quitting smoking several times to protect your loved ones from the health risks (or you may have considered vaping – see a wide selection of vape pens by clicking the link). Today, we’re going to look at some facts that may help you to stick to your plan to quit.
Passive Smoking Facts
If you’ve been thinking about quitting but you’ve been putting it off, perhaps because you’ve been thinking that a few more cigarettes at this point won’t hurt, it may help to see some facts on passive smoking that could help you to put your plan to quit into action much sooner. Below are three facts about smoking that every smoker should know before they light a cigarette indoors.
1.If you are under the impression that a single cigarette on its own poses a low threat to health, you may be interested to know that just one cigarette contains over 4,000 chemicals known collectively to the medical profession as “irritants, toxins, and cancer-causing substances”.
2.Everybody knows what a cigarette smells like (and smokers would be kind to remember that the flavour they experience is not the same as the smoke given off), but did you know that most second-hand smoke is not only colourless but odourless? This means that you can never be sure when the air has cleared when smoking indoors.
3.If you try to clear a room of smoke by opening a window or a door, you should be aware that unless there is a strong breeze, lingering smoke can hang in the air for 2-3 hours. People who know this fact sometimes try to limit their smoking to one room – however, smoke is unobliging, and will filter out of the room and around the house within minutes.
Complications From Second-Hand Smoke
Second-hand smoke poses a health risk to people of all ages. However, children are perhaps worth consideration as a high-risk group. This is because children’s lungs and immune systems are not as well developed as those of adults.
For these reasons, children who live in a household with one smoker are at increased risk of developing:
● Asthma
● Meningitis
● Ear infections
● Pneumonia/bronchitis (and other chest infections)
● Seasonal diseases such as coughs and colds due to a depleted immune system
Many countries have introduced laws against smoking inside cars in the presence of children. In order to avoid the risk, always smoke outdoors, do not smoke in the car, and ask your visitors or friends to stick to the same rules.
