home Folk remedies About the dangers of passive smoking. Passive smoking statistics. Harm of passive smoking for pregnant women

About the dangers of passive smoking. Passive smoking statistics. Harm of passive smoking for pregnant women

Passive smoking has become one of the reasons for the tightening of anti-tobacco policies in a number of countries around the world. At the beginning of the 20th century, numerous data were obtained about the dangers of this process. Scientists have found that cigarette smoke contains almost 4,000 chemicals, about 70 of which increase the risk of malignant tumors. In addition, there is a stereotype that involuntary inhalation of tobacco products produces more harm for humans than active smoking. Is it true or not, and what Negative consequences carries with it this process, we will consider further.

In contact with

The phenomenon is the penetration of tobacco products from environment into the body during respiration. In this case, a person receives a dose of the so-called side smoke.

Table 1. Some components of side smoke

Substances	Description
Polyaromatic hydrocarbons	Organic compounds formed during the combustion of cellulose. Substances are potent carcinogens, can lead to gene mutations
Nitrosamines	The danger of passive smoking is due, among other things, to the presence of nitrosamines. These are highly toxic compounds that adversely affect the liver, hematopoietic system. IN large quantities causes seizures. Increases the risk of developing cancerous tumors
Polyesters	Toxic macromolecular compounds

It should be noted that with passive and active smoking, almost the same substances enter the body, which, it would seem, means that the consequences of these phenomena are equivalent. In practice, things are different. The concentration of a number of substances in the side smoke is lower than in the smoke consumed by the smoker himself. Many of them are strong carcinogens. Side-smoke inhalation is statistically the third most common cause of death in adults and childhood.

Hazardous components of tobacco smoke

Can inhaling tobacco smoke be more harmful than active smoking?

Despite increased amount a number of carcinogens in side smoke, active smoking is more dangerous to humans. When inhaling smoke from a lit cigarette, substances enter the body in higher concentrations. Exhaled smoke is already "filtered" and less polluted.

Considering the topic of why active smoking is more harmful than passive smoking, it should be noted that involuntary inhalation of gaseous substances for 60 minutes is equivalent to smoking ½ part of a cigarette. The intake of solid particles is slightly lower, equivalent to 1/10 of the part. These substances remain in the body smoking person an average of 60-65 days. When particles are inhaled in enclosed spaces, the harm from passive smoking can be significantly higher.

In general, both active and passive smoking quite dangerous. To preserve your own health, you should avoid the habit itself, people who smoke and smoky rooms.

Impact on the health and body of non-smokers

According to recent data, inhalation of side smoke can significantly increase the likelihood of malignant tumors. In addition, the impact of passive smoking on health can lead to the development of bronchial asthma.

Inhalation causes pathologies of blood vessels and the heart. French scientists have found that about 3,000 people die every year in their country from the effects of side-smoke consumption.

Table 2. What harm does passive smoking cause to a non-smoker

Consequences	More
Lung cancer	A malignant tumor located in epithelial tissue bronchi. It is the most common cause of death from cancer. It has been proven that the effect of passive smoking on the body significantly increases the likelihood of the onset of the disease.
ENT pathologies	Often involves inflammation of the middle ear. Leads to rhinitis
Heart and blood vessels	The harm of passive smoking for the human body is manifested in negative influence to work of cardio-vascular system. It leads to heart failure
Atherosclerosis	Is a factor stimulating the development of pathology
Bronchial asthma	Chronic inflammatory process, caused by a specific immunological reaction of the body

This is not all that passive smoking is dangerous. Inhalation of smoke leads to the development and aggravation of allergies, complicates the course of bronchitis, leads to a violation mental activity. The last point is especially relevant for people 50 years and older.

What harm does it cause during pregnancy?

A group particularly affected by involuntary smoke consumption is women who are expecting a baby. A number of tobacco smoking products have mutagenic and teratogenic activity. This means that their entry into the body of a woman can lead to the development of mutations and impaired embryonic development in the baby. Also passive smoking during pregnancy leads to:

the birth of babies with low weight;
the birth of a child prematurely;
gene mutations, malformations;
mental retardation and physical development;
sudden infant death syndrome.

Let's take a closer look at the last point. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is an unexplained cessation of breathing in a baby under 12 months of age. death. Cause of death is not able to determine even the autopsy. Premature babies have been shown to be at a higher risk of developing SIDS. TO negative factors also include cigarette addiction. For a long time There have been debates about whether passive smoking is harmful. However, in 2006, scientists from the United States of America confirmed that passive form of tobacco smoke consumption should also be attributed to the causes of sudden infant death.

The answer to the question of whether passive smoking is dangerous for pregnant women is obvious. Side smoke also negatively affects the mother's body, increasing the risk of cancer, bronchial asthma, lung pathologies, etc.

What is dangerous for children?

Children are often unwitting victims of side smoke. Adults who are addicted to cigarettes are not always able to fully assess the risks of smoking in a child. What harm does passive smoking do to children:

side smoke can cause lung infections;
exacerbates respiratory diseases, increases the likelihood of complications;
leads to the appearance or intensification of allergies;
causes difficulties in teaching the child;
increases the risk of ENT pathologies, etc.

The harm of passive smoking for children is quite large. In particular, regular exposure to tobacco products on a small body can increase the risk of tuberculosis by 2 or more times. This infectious pathology, usually affecting the respiratory system, but in rare cases and other systems. Approximately 10 percent of TB cases are found in children. Previously, the pathology was not amenable to treatment, but now it is possible to get rid of the disease in its early stages.

Passive smoking can cause other harm to a non-smoking child's body. For example, lead to the development of granulomatous enteritis. This is a pathology, which is a pronounced inflammatory process, affecting organs GIT. Often affects all departments gastrointestinal tract. In childhood, the symptoms of pathology are blurred, which usually complicates the diagnosis. Other name this disease- Crohn's disease. Given in honor of the doctor who first described the pathology in the middle of the last century.

Useful video

Social educator Fakhreev Vladimir Anvarovich about what is actually more harmful - active smoking or passive smoking:

Conclusion

Everybody knows, . However, do not underestimate the involuntary inhalation of side smoke. Despite the fact that in the body of a passive smoker only 20 percent harmful substances, regular exposure to gaseous and particulate cigarettes can adversely affect health.
Among the likely risks are not only the likelihood of malignant tumors, but also severe damage to the lungs, heart, and blood vessels.
Inhalation of side smoke is extremely dangerous for pregnant women, due to possible mutations and developmental disorders in the unborn baby.
It is important to protect from tobacco smoke and children.

“Passive smoking” is a term that refers to the involuntary inhalation of air with tobacco smoke dissolved in it by people surrounding people who are taking a puff on a cigarette. This phenomenon is most noticeable indoors. That is why more and more ban measures are being taken.

What is the danger of passive smoking for the human body? Why is it as harmful as it is active? What are the consequences for a person of a systematic presence in the company of smokers?

Mechanism of passive smoking

Smoking produces three types of smoke:

primary, directly coming from a smoldering cigarette, not purified by anything and the most harmful;
passing through a cigarette, cleaned by a filter and entering the lungs of a smoker;
secondary smoke exhaled by a smoker and partially cleared by his lungs.

Passive smoking involves the involuntary inhalation of Types 1 and 3 smoke. The difference between them can be seen even with the naked eye. Secondary smoke is less dense, has more pale color. However, this does not mean that it is safer for the body. A study by the World Health Organization showed that the smoke inhaled by a passive smoker contains a complete set of carcinogens: there are more than 4000 different chemical compounds in it, including CO and CO 2, ammonia, phenol, cyanides. In the lungs of an active smoker, only part of the tar and nicotine settles.

Additional studies by tobacco companies have shown that the concentration of some of the compounds in second-hand smoke even increases. To this is added primary smoke, with which the human body receives ten times more harmful substances than with the one that has passed through the filters.

Thus, passive smoking is even more harmful than active smoking. Everyone should know about this. Despite the fact that active and passive smokers breathe the same air, the former does not get back the smoke that has left his lungs; the second "enjoys" the full range of tobacco combustion products.

The effect of smoke on the body of a passive smoker

Passive smoking and its impact on health became a concern in the early 1970s. tobacco companies with all their might they sowed doubts about the danger of smoke to others; however, it is pointless to argue with this today. Many studies have shown that passive smoking is fraught with the acquisition of:

asthma;
various types of cancer - a 70% increase in the risk of developing breast cancer in women who have not reached menopause, the appearance of tumors in the lungs, kidneys, and brain is possible;
inflammation of the middle ear;
weakening of the function of the cardiovascular system;
work disruption nervous system, including higher nervous activity - the risk of developing dementia in people over 50 years of age increases.

The harmful effect on the body accumulates - the more time a person spends in smoky rooms, the more likely the manifestation of certain diseases. If health is already weakened, for example, by diseases of the heart and blood vessels, the constant presence of smoking people nearby becomes a death sentence. According to statistics in the US:

passive smoking kills more than 50 thousand people a year;
about 10 times more deaths attributed to active smoking;
however, involuntary smoke inhalation was the third most preventable factor in fatalities.

There are also changes in the appearance of passive smokers. Smoke is absorbed into the skin, aging it, leading to the formation of wrinkles, discoloration. Damaged nails and hair. The smoke permeates the clothes.

Due to the lack of adaptation of the passive smoker's body to smoke, one of the most common effects is headache. Inhaled poisons cause constriction blood vessels which is the cause of this syndrome. The constant presence in a smoky environment leads to a deterioration in mood, insomnia, overwork.

Impact on the female body

A woman's body is less resistant to harmful compounds found in tobacco smoke. Suffering in particular reproductive system- eggs, which, unlike male germ cells, do not renew themselves, accumulate some of the carcinogens. This can lead to infertility or inability to conceive. healthy child. A passive smoker runs the risk of giving birth to a baby with a developmental delay and a number of genetic abnormalities, even if she stays away from cigarettes directly during pregnancy.

Exposure to smoke in children

The danger of passive smoking is even higher when it affects a child - children's body unable to resist harmful effects as active as an adult. Inhalation of tobacco smoke by a baby leads to:

developmental delay, reduced learning ability;
asthma, lung infections, complications of bronchitis;
blood cancer;
weakening of the immune system;
Crohn's disease;
otolaryngological diseases, including inflammation of the middle ear;
allergies;
deterioration of the condition of the teeth - the risk of developing caries increases;
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome - causeless respiratory arrest in a newborn.

Problems can appear immediately, in childhood, or they can accumulate and result in serious trouble in the future. The impact is noticeable even if parents or caregivers do not smoke directly in front of the child. The atmosphere in the house is inevitably impregnated with combustion products, which will lead to at least hypersensitivity baby to colds. It is believed that children smoking parents suffer on average twice as often as non-smokers.

It is worth noting and psychological impact. A child who constantly observes moms and dads addicted to cigarettes is much more likely to want to adopt this behavior in the future.

Consequences of passive smoking during pregnancy

Many smoking women believe that it is enough for them to stop smoking a cigarette during the period of bearing a child, and everything will be in order. However, passive inhalation of smoke causes the body future mother and no less harm to the fetus. Therefore, not only the expectant mother should give up cigarettes, but also the rest of the household. It is better to do this a year before pregnancy.

Passive smokers are at increased risk for the following complications:

miscarriage;
prematurity, premature birth;
stillbirth;
placental abruption;
profuse bleeding during childbirth.

Chemical compounds are able to penetrate into the body of the fetus and have a teratogenic effect. The likelihood that a child will be born with developmental anomalies and mutations increases. In addition, it is possible sudden death newborn. In general, the more time a pregnant woman spends in the company of smokers, the less healthy kid will come to light.

The nicotine that enters the blood of the child to be born leads to the fact that the baby is born with an existing addiction. It has been observed that children of smoking parents in maternity hospitals cry more than non-smokers.

Thus, a bad habit harms not only the smoker himself, but also the people around him. A single inhalation of someone else's smoke will not lead to the development of diseases. Regular passive smoking becomes no less harmful than active smoking.

Expert opinion

Unfortunately, many smokers, just like non-smokers, underestimate the dangers of passive smoking. According to various sources, the proportion of people directly and indirectly affected by smoking reaches 30%. Smokers claim "their right" to smoke, while any addiction excludes the right to choose. Unfortunately, the closest people suffer most from passive smoking, and especially children, who not only breathe poisonous smoke, but observe and “absorb” bad habits like sponges.

It is an extremely common misconception that a smoker's problems are exclusively his problems. Maybe if the smoker smokes alone or in the company of his "like-minded people" in the open air, away from non-smokers. However, in most cases, those around you are exposed to second-hand smoke, especially family members. smokers at home in the kitchen, in the toilet, and even in the living rooms.

Here are the facts and consider the consequences of passive smoking.

The idea that habits that adversely affect a person's health are his own business is deeply flawed. That is why preventive medicine, despairing of the results of educational work in the fight against unhealthy habits, is increasingly turning to administrative measures. In recent years, there has been more and more evidence that the so-called passive or forced smoking (inhalation of air polluted with tobacco smoke) contributes to the development of diseases characteristic of smokers in non-smokers. Environmental pollution by smokers is very significant. The risk associated with forced smoking and exposure to tobacco smoke containing thousands of chemicals is undoubtedly high. A lit cigarette during its "short life" is a source of sidestream smoke (besides the main stream that smokers enjoy) that affects others who are forced to secondhand smoke and inhale harmful substances.

It is of interest to determine the dose inhaled during passive smoking constituent parts smoke. In table. 1 presents some of the components of tobacco smoke inhaled during active and passive smoking.

Table 1

Inhaled dose of various tobacco smoke ingredients in active and passive smoking

These data indicate that a passive smoker, being in a room with active smokers for one hour, inhales such a dose of some gaseous constituents of tobacco smoke, which is equivalent to smoking half a cigarette. However, the dose of inhaled particulate matter, including tar, is somewhat less and corresponds to smoking 0.1 part of a cigarette.

J. Repace and A. Lowrey (1980) concluded that non-smokers currently inhale up to 14 mg of highly carcinogenic substances contained in tobacco smoke, with a delay in their lungs for 70 days. They further point out that indoor tobacco aerosol appears to be the main source of respirable particles. These authors found that the concentration of tobacco smoke in enclosed spaces is directly proportional to the intensity of smoking and inversely proportional to the efficiency of ventilation. Ventilation efficiency is increased by replacing indoor polluted air with fresh outdoor air, tobacco aerosol adsorption on surfaces, a highly efficient filtration system, and high degree speed of entry into the room fresh air.

Toxic substances contained in tobacco smoke are inhaled by smokers. Most of it enters the air during smoking pauses, which are usually longer than the puff torque. These substances are also inhaled during forced smoking. For example, the sidestream smoke contains 3.4 times more benzo(a)pyrene than the main stream. In smoky rooms, the content of benzo(a)pyrene is higher than in clean outdoor air. Carcinogenic substances differ from other poisons in that individual partial doses are summed up almost without loss until critical thresholds are reached. Due to such a summative effect of carcinogens in this case, there are no so-called MAC-values (maximum concentrations allowed at the workplace), so the task is to completely remove them. Carcinogenic nitrosamines deserve special attention in this respect. In the side stream of tobacco smoke, the concentrations of volatile nitrosamines are 50-100 times higher than in the main stream. The most dangerous of these compounds is dimethylnitrosamine. No species of animal can resist its carcinogenic effect. It mainly affects the liver and lungs. This was discovered very recently with the help of new chemical research methods. If nitrosamines are not found in residential premises where they do not smoke, then nitrosamines are found in workplaces and institutions where there is a lot of tobacco smoke in the air. If any device or mechanism during its operation would release the same amount of carcinogens as inhaled by millions of passive smokers, its work would be banned immediately.

The study of the phenomenon of "passive smoking" was conducted in France, the United States and other countries. As a result, a negative effect on non-smokers of the constituent components of tobacco smoke (carbon monoxide, nicotine, aldehydes, acrolein, etc.) was established. The influence of these substances on the composition of the blood, urine and nervous system of a passive smoker was revealed. Especially great harm is caused by carbon monoxide, which, as previously noted, penetrating through the lungs into the blood, firmly combines with hemoglobin, preventing the delivery of oxygen to tissues. Typically, the content of the resulting carboxyhemoglobin in human blood ranges from 0.4 to 1%. According to WHO, the limit of its content is 4%. An increase in the concentration of carboxyhemoglobin up to 16-20% can cause death in patients with cardiovascular diseases, and up to 67-70% in practically healthy individuals. G. Grimmer et al. (1977) found an increase in the content of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the air, the concentration of carbon monoxide when smoking in a room with an area of 36 m2.

Experts calculated that the harm of passive smoking corresponds to the harmful effect of smoking 1 cigarette every 5 hours, and after 10-15 minutes it can cause profuse lacrimation: 14% of non-smokers have a short-term deterioration in visual acuity and 19% have an increased secretion of mucus from the nose. Staying for 8 hours in a closed smoking area results in exposure to tobacco smoke corresponding to smoking more than 5 cigarettes.

It has now been proven that passive smoking is an important factor development risk lung cancer. At the same time, a statistically significant dependence on the time spent in smoky rooms was established, since the side stream of smoke contains a higher concentration of the carcinogen dimethylnitrosamine than the main stream inhaled by an active smoker.

The problem of passive smoking escalated twenty years ago, when T. Hirayama (1982) presented data on a 14-year prospective study of 91,540 Japanese non-smokers in terms of standardized mortality from lung cancer, depending on their husbands smoking. Women whose husbands smoked less than a pack of cigarettes per day or more than a pack had a 1.5 and 2 times higher risk of developing lung cancer, respectively, than women whose husbands did not smoke. This risk increased to 4.6 for wives of agricultural workers aged 40 to 58 who smoked more than a pack of cigarettes per day. Approximately similar results were obtained in a 5-year retrospective study commissioned by the Greek Ministry of Health, more than 300 Greek women. It turned out that non-smoking women whose husbands smoked up to 20 cigarettes a day, the risk of developing lung cancer was 2.4, and those who smoked more than 20 cigarettes a day - 3.4 compared with the wives of non-smoking husbands.

Knoth A. et al. (1983), after examining patients with bronchocarcinoma in Germany, found that 61.5% of the sick women did not smoke themselves, but were in an atmosphere of tobacco smoke at home. Based on this, the authors conclude that the development of bronchocarcinoma in women is associated with passive smoking. Characteristically, the likelihood of lung cancer in women increases dramatically if they themselves smoke at least 2-3 cigarettes a day. The risk of developing lung cancer in children depends on their parents' smoking, with maternal smoking having a greater influence.

A generalization of the results of various studies on the effect of passive smoking on the development of lung cancer was carried out by E.L. Wynder and M/T. Goodman (1983).

In other studies, it has been found that an increase in the level of carbon monoxide during passive smoking contributes to the development of angina pectoris in patients with coronary artery disease. This level of CO also leads to more rapid development of dyspnea in patients with chronic hypoxic lung injury. With passive smoking, the level of carboxyhemoglobin can increase from 1 to 2%, while with active smoking it ranges from 5 to 11%.

J. White and H. Froeb (1981) studied the long-term results of smoking and passive smoking in 5210 middle-aged people, of whom 2208 were excluded due to a previous lung disease. Functional studies (FEW - forced expiratory air flow) made it possible to establish that the best performance was in non-smokers who were in a smoke-free room, followed by passive smokers, smokers who did not inhale tobacco smoke, light smokers and, finally, heavy smokers. The dangers exist not only for individual families, but also for the population as a whole, for non-smoking wives of smoking husbands, for children whose parents smoke, and, more broadly, for the fetus in the mother's womb. The physiological processes in the fetal body are disturbed, the frequency of its heart contractions is increased, since the placental blood flow decreases in a smoking mother. After birth, a child who is in an atmosphere of tobacco smoke pays with impaired respiratory function and other consequences, which were mentioned above.

R. Rona et al. (1981) showed that the growth of a child is significantly affected by exposure to tobacco smoke at home, especially if there are two or more people in the family who smoke and if the mother smoked during pregnancy. Bronchitis and pneumonia in children during the first year of life develop more often if parents smoke. A small child is much worse protected from passive smoking than an adult. In families of smokers, children in the same room with smoking parents are twice as likely to have respiratory diseases compared with children whose parents smoke in a separate room, or children whose parents do not smoke.

A New Zealand study showed that the incidence of bronchitis and pneumonia during the first year of life in cases of heavy smoking mothers increased by 7-21% compared with children of non-smokers. The noted correlation was limited mainly to the first year of life.

The results of a study of the health of school-age children in connection with their parents' smoking are not so certain, although there is evidence of the effect of maternal smoking on respiratory diseases in children and adolescents.

A. Bergman and L. Wiesner (1976) note the impact of passive smoking on children, including an increased frequency of respiratory infections in children of smoking mothers. The authors studied 56 families who lost children due to sudden death, 86 families served as controls. Mothers of deceased children smoked during pregnancy in 61% of cases and after pregnancy in 59% of cases.

I Tager et al. (1979) in a survey of 444 children aged 5 to 9 years found that parental smoking caused a decrease in lung function.

As H. Remmer (1983) points out, if exposure to tobacco smoke begins in early childhood, then the likelihood of developing lung cancer in the future increases. M. Kraemer et al. (1983) consider passive smoking as a risk factor in the development of inflammatory lesions of the middle ear in children.

When exposed to tobacco smoke in children, an increase blood pressure and increased heart rate. Respiratory system disorders in preschool children with passive smoking were stated by J. Dutan et al. (1978).

J. White and H. Froeb (1980) concluded that chronic exposure to tobacco smoke in the work environment is harmful to non-smokers and significantly reduces the function of small airways at the level of smokers who smoke from 1 to 10 cigarettes per day.

It has been established that the state of excitation and irritability in passive smokers is largely associated with exposure to tobacco smoke. Particularly sensitive to irritation are the mucous membranes of the nose and eyes, in particular with increasing contamination of the premises with toxic products of tobacco smoke. Changes in psychomotor functions, especially attention and ability to assimilate knowledge, were noted.

C. Barad (1979) studied the symptomatic effect of passive smoking in a population of more than 10,000 non-smoking employees. More than 50% of non-smokers reported some difficulty in working around smokers and 36% stated that they were forced to leave their workplaces due to secondhand smoke, and 30% of non-smokers were prevented from working by tobacco smoke. With regard to clinically detectable symptoms, 48% of non-smokers complained of irritation of the mucous membranes of the eyelids (conjunctivitis), 35% of irritation of the nasal mucosa, 30% of cough, dry throat and sneezing, about 5% of exacerbation of previous pulmonary lesions, 3% for worsening cardiovascular disease and 10% said they were allergic to tobacco smoke. It should be borne in mind that effective speed The ventilation of the premises decreases with the recirculation of polluted air in them, the low rate of introduction of fresh air and the presence of various obstacles to air circulation. As G. Repar (1981) points out, in buildings under construction, due to the austerity policy implemented by construction companies in the United States, the average level of tobacco smoke both in buildings where natural ventilation is carried out and in buildings with mechanical ventilation increases, which is harmful to health people due to passive smoking.

An alternative approach to controlling indoor air pollution is to reduce the intensity of the pollution source, product regulation tobacco products and etc.

The World Health Organization has recommended that greater efforts be made to ban smoking in in public places and that epidemiological studies on smoking include the development of passive smoking questions. In passing, we note that the tobacco lobby in the capitalist countries denies the existence of strong evidence that passive smoking causes significant harm to health. Thus, passive smoking also causes significant damage to the health of the population, leading essentially to the same pathological manifestations that are caused by active smoking.

Statistics have shown that smoking will kill about half of those who start smoking in adolescence and will continue to smoke for the rest of his life. Forty years of epidemiological studies in several countries have found that smoking kills about half of persistent smokers who become addicted to the habit during adolescence, and half of them before they reach the age of 70 years. Most people know that tobacco is dangerous, but few, even among healthcare professionals, realize how dangerous it really is. Recent US studies have shown that in a group of 15-year-old American boys, tobacco is predicted to kill three times more of them before they reach 70 than drugs, homicides, suicides, AIDS, traffic accidents and alcohol combined. In the Russian Federation, in a group of 1,000 20-year-old smokers who will smoke throughout their lives, we can expect that by the age of 70, one of them will be killed, nine will die in traffic accidents, and 250 will be killed by smoking . These 250 people who die from smoking will lose about 22 years of their life expectancy. And another 250 people will die of tobacco-related diseases after the age of seventy. In 1990, in developed countries, smoking was responsible for 35% of all male deaths in middle age (35-69 years).

I don’t think that smokers themselves want to be included in this statistic, but in order not to be there, to their great regret, they need to give up tobacco once and for all. And for those who have not yet got used to this muck, and even more so have not started smoking, think about how long they are going to live in this world. If the figure is greater than the above, smoking is not their occupation.

“I personally quit, I don’t smoke, I’m cheerful, full of energy. I thank the native Ministry of Health that he warned. Oh, Ressi, excuse me for the sad pun: From now on, we will announce a smoking break for smoking!

Problems of restriction and prohibition of smoking

Many believe that bad habits harm the person himself. But, smoking is a huge danger for both the smoker and his environment. Today the fight against passive smoking is being carried out. What is it? Passive (forced) smoking - forced inhalation of air polluted by cigarette smoke. So, non-smokers face the same diseases as an experienced smoker. What is the danger of passive smoking?

What affects the health of a passive smoker?

There is no doubt that passive smoking is harmful. After all, at the same time, polluted smoke is inhaled against the will of a person. He just has to be in such circumstances. A smoker, on the other hand, consciously, voluntarily harms his health by smoking cigarettes one after another. Statistics indicate that even standing at a bus stop, a non-smoker inhales about 60% of the toxic substances found in cigarette smoke.

What are the harmful toxins in tobacco smoke? The following components poison the body of a passive smoker:

nitrogen oxide. It has a toxic effect on the respiratory tract.
Hydrogen cyanide. Extremely toxic ingredient. Destructively affects absolutely all systems of the human body.
Carbon monoxide. When inhaling this component, a passive smoker experiences oxygen starvation. Therefore, being in a smoky room, many non-smokers immediately feel nausea, dizziness, headache.
Nitrosamine. A carcinogen that saturates cigarette smoke. Destroys brain cells.
Aldehydes. A complex of substances that poison the body of any person, both smokers and not. When it enters the respiratory system, aldehydes provoke severe irritation of the mucous membranes. In addition, these substances inhibit the functions of the central nervous system. Formaldehyde is the biggest danger. It concentrates in the air that a non-smoker inhales.
Acrolein. Acrolein is a product that does not burn completely in tobacco. When inhaled, smoke causes irritation, and even burns of the bronchial mucosa, nose.

This is not the whole list of harmful components that are concentrated in cigarette smoke. There are about 4 thousand more toxic substances. More than 50 of them are dangerous carcinogens. As you know, carcinogens often cause cancer. Therefore, passive smoking is just as dangerous as actually smoking cigarettes.

Harm of passive smoking

Violates the work of absolutely all systems and organs. In some cases, it is more harmful than active. This is especially true for pregnant women and children. The constant presence in a smoky room will certainly lead to diseases characteristic of an experienced smoker. Cigarette smoke disrupts the sensitivity of the olfactory organs, dulls the taste buds. Skin, hair, clothes are saturated with tobacco smoke. So, a passive smoker becomes a real hostage bad habit his close environment.

Harm to the respiratory system

Inhalation of tobacco smoke primarily affects the upper respiratory tract. So, against the background of regular irritation of the mucous membranes of this system, the following complications develop:

Sore throat;
Dryness of the nasal cavity;
Sneeze;
allergic rhinitis.

It's just small part what passive smoking leads to. Further, a person who never smokes has vasomotor rhinitis. With this disease, a person suffers from chronic rhinitis. The danger of this pathology lies in the fact that the risk of bronchial asthma increases. It is known that this disease is chronic.

Few people know that any diseases of the nasal cavity are directly related to the ears. Any pathology of the nasal mucosa provokes tubo-otitis, eustacheitis, otitis media, autophony, hearing impairment. Also, scientists have found that bronchial asthma five times more likely to occur when inhaled cigarette smoke. If a passive smoker has developed chronic irritation of the lung mucosa, the risk of growth of the pulmonary membrane increases. So, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is diagnosed.

Negative effects of smoke inhalation on the brain

On a par with respiratory system, the central nervous system also suffers. Passive smoking causes the same harm as active smoking. So, among the first signs of a violation, nervousness, irritability, and a violation of the psycho-emotional background are noted. For the nervous system, nicotine is dangerous, which exceeds its concentration in the air, and not when inhaled from a cigarette.

An active release of neurotransmitters is observed, which has an exciting, psychostimulating effect. Against this background, a passive smoker may complain about:

Passive smoking and the cardiovascular system

Those components that are part of cigarette smoke adversely affect the state of the cardiovascular system. So, there is a decrease in vascular tone, an increase in their permeability, depletion vascular walls. Consequently, the risk of developing arrhythmia, tachycardia, ischemia increases. With constant inhalation of polluted air, a passive smoker exposes himself to such diseases as hypertension, myocardial infarction, stroke, atherosclerosis, coronary heart disease, angina pectoris.

Scientists have proven that both active and passive smokers often suffer from pathologies such as obliterating endarteritis. The disease is characterized by the development of gangrene of the extremities. Also, it has been scientifically proven that passive smoking increases the risk of stroke by 44%. The treatment of any pathologies of the vessels and the heart is difficult, since the body has been, and remains in a state of chronic nicotine intoxication.

Effects of passive smoking on vision

Nicotine smoke is a powerful allergen. Therefore, regular stay in a smoky room provokes allergic conjunctivitis. Also, there is drying of the mucous membrane of the eye. So, a person has to blink more often, a “dry eye” syndrome appears. All this causes narrowing of the eye vessels, violations of the structure of the cornea.

How does inhalation of cigarette smoke harm the reproductive system?

Inhalation of polluted air has an extremely negative effect on work genitourinary system. This is especially true for women. So, wives living with smoking husbands complain about irregular, short menstrual cycle. Such an anomaly causes difficulties in conceiving a child. Both passive and active smoking provoke depletion of the ovarian reserve in girls.

Passive smoking is dangerous for male body. So, there is a connection between inhalation of smoke and a decrease in mobility, fertility of spermatozoa. Consequently, the quality indicators of the ejaculate are undoubtedly reduced.

Oncological diseases due to inhalation of cigarette smoke

Various studies have shown that regular inhalation of dirty smoke leads to serious illnesses. The first is lung cancer. Yes, for such a pathology it is not at all necessary to become an experienced smoker. Thus, lung cancer occurs 30% more often than in people who protect themselves even from passive smoking.

In women, the risk of developing breast cancer increases by 72%, by 15% - malignant formations in the kidneys. Also, there is an increase in mortality from stroke, coronary disease heart muscle by 60%. So, every year 2700 people die from this pathology. more people, V age group from 18 to 55 years old. In general, from passive smoking, there is a decrease in hearing, mental activity, memory, deterioration in the condition of hair, skin.

In general, the statistics show the following figures:

About 600 thousand people die from this every year;
Of this number, 400 thousand - from diseases of the heart and blood vessels;
165 thousand people die from pathologies of the upper respiratory tract;
22 thousand passive smokers per year die from lung cancer;
150,000 children a year become victims.

In families where at least one of the spouses smokes, children get sick many times more often. For a small child's body, even a minimal dose of toxic substances from cigarette smoke is enough to simply destroy the immune system, protective functions organism. Young children are exposed to intoxication every second. After all, they cannot open the window, go to another room.

Such a child often develops allergies, chronic bronchial asthma. He's regularly over for colds, viral diseases because the immune system is compromised. It has been proven that if a mother during breastfeeding smokes, the risk of respiratory pathologies in a baby increases by 96%. If the mother holds the child in her arms while smoking, these pathologies occur in 75% of all cases.

Passively smoking child suffers from the same diseases as an adult when inhaling toxic smoke:

Children in smoking families are often prone to neurological pathologies. From an early age, the child lags behind both in mental and physical development, from their peers. Regular exposure to tobacco smoke toxins leads to apathy, lethargy, and weak activity of the baby. Often there is a syndrome of hyperactivity, increased aggression, decreased concentration.

The effect of passive smoking on the body of a pregnant girl

Passive smoking is extremely dangerous for a pregnant woman. This is especially true for the fetus. Poisoning with toxins worsens the well-being of the expectant mother. Moreover, nicotine smoke can cause fetal developmental disorders. Subsequently, this can cause the fetus to freeze, its death. Girls who are exposed to regular smoke inhalation often have small babies.

The risk of prematurity is increased. At the same time, a child can be born with complications such as cleft lip, strabismus, clubfoot, cleft palate. Intoxication of the body of the expectant mother causes fetal hypoxia. In the future, a child may be born with mental, intellectual disabilities.

The danger to the fetus lies in the fact that the baby can be born with a reduced head, chest. The risk of such a pathology as the syndrome of sudden death of a baby increases. Such pregnant girls almost all the time of gestation complain of constant, severe toxicosis. Therefore, future mothers need not only to monitor the quality of their nutrition, but also to protect themselves from smoke poisoning.

Why is passive smoking dangerous? Many of us do not even think about the fact that being near a smoking person is harmful to health. Few people suspect that two streams of smoke are emitted during the combustion of tobacco. The main stream is formed when the smoker "tightens". It passes through the entire cigarette, enters the lungs and is exhaled in the form of an additional (second) stream. Unfortunately, few people know that it contains many times more harmful substances. In the course of research, it was found that in the additional stream the content of ammonia is 45 times higher, tar and nicotine - 50 times higher, carbon monoxide - 5 times higher. Passive smoking is the inhalation of all these compounds. Pregnant women and children are most sensitive to toxic and carcinogenic substances.

The harm of passive smoking is complex and, as it is not strange for many, it has an even more harmful effect on the health of the people around the smoker. Scientists have long proven the relationship between passive smoking and the development of diseases:

respiratory tract;
of cardio-vascular system;
nervous system;
urinary organs;
bone apparatus.

According to one of the British medical journals, 5 years of living near a smoker can increase the likelihood of developing blindness by 2 times. Finnish physician Markku Nurminen points out that toxic substances from exhaled tobacco smoke become a death sentence for passive smokers around him with diseases of the coronary heart system. According to the WHO, it was passive smoking that caused 200,000 deaths a year.

The danger of passive smoking also lies in the fact that it, like active smoking, increases the risk of developing cancer many times over.
According to Japanese health care, the risk of developing breast cancer is 2.6 times higher in women who are forced to inhale tobacco smoke and cannot avoid smoky rooms. Women who have not yet begun menopause are especially sensitive to tobacco smoke - this is due to the fact that high concentration sex hormones may be involved in the formation of tumors in the mammary gland.

Scientists have found that employees of entertainment establishments with cancer in 2.8% of cases have education cancerous tumor caused passive smoking.

All of the above examples suggest that the harm of passive smoking is obvious. Modern society and every potential passive smoker should think about how to protect themselves from the harmful effects of passive smoking.

Passive smoking and children

The body of a child is especially sensitive to passive smoking - and the younger he is, the more negatively tobacco smoke affects him. According to WHO, almost half of all children are doomed to suffer from adult smoking. Inhalation of tobacco smoke provokes:

The impact of secondhand smoke on children can be immediate or it can take many years to show up.

German scientists have established a relationship between parental smoking and asthma in children. Development risk respiratory diseases in a family of smokers is doubled. In passive smoking children, the risk of inflammation of the middle ear increases by 1.4 times. Scientists have established a relationship between childhood oncological diseases of the blood, nasal cavity and passive inhalation of tobacco smoke.

It is hard to imagine that a mother or father can put a cigarette in the hand of their child, but few people know that smoking a pack of cigarettes in front of a child can be equated to 2-3 cigarettes that the child “smoked himself”. WHO urges all parents to remember that they have a duty to protect and shield their children from passive smoking. The consequences of seemingly harmless inhalation of "mother's" and "dad's" smoke can be fatal for a child and lead to his disability!

Passive smoking and pregnancy

Passive smoking during pregnancy is no less harmful than active smoking.
Statistics indicate that about 80% of pregnant women become passive smokers. With passive inhalation of tobacco smoke, both the body of the expectant mother and the body of the fetus suffer.

Passive mothers-to-be smokers have a much higher risk of developing some pregnancy complications:

miscarriage– by 39%;
the birth of a dead child - by 23%;
congenital pathologies fetus - by 13%;
placenta previa and massive bleeding during childbirth - by 90%;
placental abruption - by 25%.

Any of these figures can make you think about the dangers of passive smoking for the body of a future mother.

A huge amount of mutagenic and carcinogenic substances pass through the placental barrier and harm all organs and systems of an unborn child.

Passive smoking of an expectant mother can lead to serious illness future child before and after childbirth:

sudden death of an infant;
the development of deformities and malformations (defects of the heart and other organs, cleft palate, cleft lip, etc.);
respiratory diseases (bronchitis, pneumonia, bronchial asthma, etc.);
delayed mental and physical development;
increased risk oncological diseases;
decrease in immunity.

The danger of passive smoking for the unborn child can be prevented by the pregnant woman herself and her environment. Knowing about the risks that tobacco smoke brings to an unborn baby, and quitting smoking in the presence of a future mother, can completely prevent trouble.