What you need to know about second-hand smoke
What is second-hand smoke?
Second-hand smoke is what smokers breathe out and into the air. It’s also the smoke that comes from a burning cigarette, cigar or pipe.
Second-hand smoke has the same chemicals in it as the tobacco smoke breathed in by a smoker. Hundreds of the chemicals in second-hand smoke are toxic. More than 70 of them have been shown to cause cancer in human studies or lab tests.
Every year, about 800 Canadian non-smokers die from second-hand smoke.
How second-hand smoke affects you
- You risk developing lung cancer and other lung diseases.
- You’re at a higher risk for heart attacks and stroke.
- It can bother your skin, eyes, nose and throat.
- If you have allergies or breathing problems (like asthma), second-hand smoke can make them much worse.
How second-hand smoke affects babies and children
Babies and children of parents who smoke are more likely to:
- weigh less than normal at birth
- get sick more often than other babies
- die from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)
- have breathing problems like wheezing and coughing
- develop ear infections
- have chronic lung disease when they’re older
- develop asthma, and their asthma will be worse
- do less well in school, particularly in reading and math
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