Secondhand smoke and cancer

By April Speck, Coordinator,

Clinton County Healthy Hometown Coalition

• Secondhand smoke (also called environmental tobacco smoke, involuntary smoke, and passive smoke) is the smoke given off by a burning tobacco product and the smoke exhaled by a smoker.

• At least 69 chemicals in secondhand smoke are known to cause cancer.

• Secondhand smoke causes lung cancer in nonsmokers.

• Secondhand smoke has also been associated with heart disease in adults and sudden infant death syndrome, ear infections, and asthma attacks in children.

• There is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke.

People can be exposed to secondhand smoke in homes, cars, the workplace, and public places, such as bars, restaurants, and recreational settings. In the United States, the source of most secondhand smoke is from cigarettes, followed by pipes, cigars, and other tobacco product.

Among the more than 7,000 chemicals that have been identified in secondhand tobacco smoke, at least 250 are known to be harmful, for example, hydrogen cyanide, carbon monoxide, and ammonia.

At least 69 of the toxic chemicals in secondhand tobacco smoke cause cancer

• Arsenic • Benzene • Beryllium (a toxic metal)

• 1,3–Butadiene (a hazardous gas) • Cadmium

• Chromium (a metallic element) • Ethylene oxide

• Nickel (a metallic element)

• Polonium-210 (a radioactive chemical element)

• Vinyl chloride

Other toxic chemicals in secondhand smoke are suspected to cause cancer, including:

• Formaldehyde • Benzo[a]pyrene • Toluene

Students respond to

secondhand smoke warnings

Recently, I completed a lesson on the dangers of secondhand smoke with Ms. Tyonia Sinclair’s ninth grade health class. Their project was a drawing or a short paragraph on “Why Secondhand Smoking is Harmful.”

Included near this article are a few of the many works handed in by the students participating in this class.

Healthy Hometown Coalition Events:

1. Still need CCHS students to walk with AES students before school.

2. CCHS students will begin teaching Take 10! Physical Education activities at ECC with all Kindergarten students on Tuesday, January 14th.

3. Community Leaders tabletop is set for Tuesday, January 14th 9:00 a.m. at City Hall.

4. Nutrition/Food Expert tabletop is set for Tuesday, January 21st 1:00 p.m. at Clinton County Extension Office.

For more information contact Healthy Hometown Coordinator, April Speck at april.speck@clinton.kyschools or 606-306-7044.

Follow Healthy Hometown Project on Twitter: @HealthyHomeKY , and on Facebook: Kentucky’s Healthy Hometown Initiative-Clinton County

Healthy Hometown is working toward a “healthy” Clinton County.