Secondhand smoke (also known as 'Environmental Tobacco Smoke' (ETS) or 'passive smoking') is a mixture of side stream smoke from the burning tip of a cigarette, and mainstream smoke exhaled by a smoker. Secondhand smoke kills, and scientific evidence shows that there is no safe level of exposure.
Secondhand smoke kills.
The Government’s independent Scientific Committee on Tobacco And Health (SCOTH) reported in 2004 (reaffirming the conclusions of its report in 1998) that exposure to secondhand smoke can cause a number of serious medical conditions:
- Lung cancer
- Heart disease
- Asthma attacks
- Childhood respiratory disease
- Sudden infant death syndrome
- Reduced lung function
The World Health Organisation has classified secondhand smoke as a known human carcinogen.
Young children are especially vulnerable to secondhand smoke because their bodies are still developing.
- If you smoke when your children are around, they can inhale the equivalent of 150 cigarettes a year
- Your child could be one of the 50 children admitted to hospital every day in the UK because of tobacco smoke in your home
- Or have more breathing problems, middle ear infections and asthma attacks
- Cot death is 5 times more likely when there’s secondhand smoke around
As a parent, you can protect your children from passive smoking. Even if you decide to carry on smoking yourself, you can decide not to smoke inside your home.
Related websites
- Every Child Matters
Every Child Matters: Change for Children is a new approach to the well-being of children and young people from birth to age 19. - GASP
Online GASP web catalogue containing 350 stop smoking and tobacco control resources. - SureStart
The Government's programme to deliver the best start in life for every child by bringing together early education, childcare and health and family support.