Monday, August 4, 2014

What is Secondhand Smoking?

According to Cancer.org, Passive Smoke or commonly known as Secondhand Smoke (SHS) is breathing in other people’s tobacco smoke. It is a mixture of two forms: side stream and mainstream smoke. Side stream smoke comes from the lighted end of a cigarette, pipe, or cigar while mainstream smoke are the one exhaled by the firsthand smoker.

Common sense might tell us they’re the same, but in reality they are different in concentrations of cancer-causing agents (carcinogens). Side stream smoke has higher concentrations of smaller particles, thus making their way into the lungs and the body’s cells more easily.

When non-smokers are exposed to passive smoking, they breathe in nicotine and toxic chemicals by the same route the smokers do. The more SHS they breathe, the higher level of these harmful chemicals poisons the body.

The Department of Health (DOH) says 23.9 million Filipinos are exposed to tobacco smoke daily—a substantial fraction of the entire population. After all, this is no surprising since the country is named by the American Cancer Society and World Lung Foundation as among the top smokers in the world. Accounting nearly one billion smokers worldwide, the Philippines contributes 17.3 million smokers aged 15 and up according to 2009 Global Adult Tobacco Surveys.

And the deadlier truth is, they can be everywhere.  You can be exposed to secondhand smoke in homes, cars, workplace and public places such as bars, restaurants and any recreational settings. Anyone of us can be a victim.

WATCH THIS:

6 comments:

  1. it saddens me greatly that even though how much we try to avoid smoking, just because others won't and we simply inhale their smokes, we could have be in even more dangerous situation than them. second hand smoking should be stopped. smoking areas should be implemented properly.

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  2. I guess this could discourage smokers to quit since they are the reasons why we suffer the effects of second hand smoking. Seeing that the effects of it are worst than theirs, they should really consider quitting.

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  3. It really is a sad thing to know that there are chain smokers who doesn't care about the welfare of other people's health. I hope that this blog will serve as an awareness to people who unconsciously smoke to their heart's content and put a stop to this wrong practice.I

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  4. i am one of the poor victims of secondhand smoking. smokers should practice responsible smoking. if they cant stop smoking they should atleast be sensitive about others especially the young ones.

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  6. As a concerned student nurse proper information dissemination to people about the danger of smoking is a must. This blog is a big help for the health care team to promote health. Smokers must be aware of the effects of smoking not just in their own but to the people that surrounds them especially the children who are exposed to second hand smoke are at increased risk for these health problems
    pneumonia,bronchitis,ear infections,wheezing,coughing.
    I hope through this blog people will realize how important health is. :)

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