Health Effects of Secondhand Smoke

Secondhand smoke is the combination of smoke from the burning end of a cigarette and the smoke breathed out by smokers. Secondhand smoke contains more than 7,000 chemicals. Hundreds are toxic and about 70 can cause cancer.

There is no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke.

Secondhand smoke causes numerous health problems in infants and children, including more frequent and severe asthma attacks, respiratory infections, ear infections, and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

Smoking during pregnancy results in more than 1,000 infant deaths annually.

Some of the health conditions caused by secondhand smoke in adults include coronary heart disease, stroke and lung cancer.

Montana Facts and Figures

More than 1,400 Montanans die each year from tobacco-related disease. That’s four Montanans every day!

Every year, Montanans pay more than $441 million in medical expenditures attributable to smoking; businesses pay more than $305 million in lost productivity due to illness and time off.

Nineteen percent of all adults in Montana smoke, and 38% of American Indian adults in Montana smoke. (BRFSS, 2013)

Montana adult males use spit tobacco at a rate that is almost double the national average (15% compared to 8%). (BRFSS, 2013)

Fifteen percent of Montana youth are current cigarette smokers and 13% are current smokeless tobacco users. (YRBS, 2013).

In 2009 23% of young adults, aged 18-34, had tried e-cigarettes, which there is currently no FDA restrictions on ingredients in these devices.

Smoking and the Workplace

Smoking in the workplace is a violation of the Montana Clean Indoor Air Act (CIAA). If you have concerns or would like to report a Clean Indoor Air Violation, go on line to http://dphhs.mt.gov/publichealth/mtupp to complete a short electronic form, or call the Richland County Health Department at 406.433.2207

 

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