North East Digital Village
Smoke-Free Homes
http://www.epa.gov/smokefree/healthrisks.html
"Secondhand smoke is a mixture of the smoke given off by the burning end of a cigarette, pipe, or cigar, and the smoke exhaled from the lungs of smokers. Secondhand smoke is also called environmental tobacco smoke (ETS); exposure to secondhand smoke is called involuntary smoking or passive smoking."
In the past, the long-term health risks of breathing in other people's cigarette, pipe and cigar smoke were unproven. While the non-smoker could say that the smoke irritated their eyes, their lungs and smelled bad, the body of research was not available to help the non-smoker establish that harm (lung cancer, heart disease, asthma, sudden infant death syndrome, bronchitis, pneumonia, ear infections) was being caused to them by other's smoke. This page in the North East Digital Village's BluePlanet Special section will present information for the non-smoker and the smoker alike.
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The Risks of Second-Hand Smoke
Health Effects of Exposure to Secondhand Smoke
Secondhand smoke is a mixture of the smoke given off by the burning end of a cigarette, pipe, or cigar, and the smoke exhaled by smokers. Secondhand smoke is also called environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) and exposure to secondhand smoke is sometimes called involuntary or passive smoking. Secondhand smoke contains more that 4,000 substances, several of which are known to cause cancer in humans or animals.
cite: epa.gov/smokefree/
Second Hand Smoke:
You can see smoke in the air but what may not be so obvious is that there are 4,000 chemicals in the smoke. More than 50 of these chemicals are carcinogens: they cause cancer. The chemicals also contribute directly to other diseases, such as asthma, heart disease and emphysema. And that's for smokers and non-smokers alike.
cite: hc-sc.gc.ca
9 Things You Can Do To Make Your World Smoke-Free !:
1. Create a cool school
2. Strike three, smoking's out!
3. Butt Out!
4. Shop around
5. Make a pledge
6. Stick 'em up!
7. Block that slot!
8. Stop the presses!
9. Be in the know about saying, No!
cite: cdc.gov/tobacco
What You Can Do About Secondhand Smoke as Parents, Decision-Makers, and Building Occupants:
Advice and ideas about what you can do to eliminate second-hand smoke in the home, where children spend time, in the workplace, in restaurants and bars, in other indoor spaces.
cite: cdc.gov/tobacco
Child Health Champion Resource Guide:
Developed as part of U.S. EPA's Child Health Champion Campaign, a program designed to empower local citizen's and communities to take steps toward protecting
their children from environmental health threats. It includes descriptions of 241 resources that may be of interest to communities participating in the Child Health Champion Campaign. The resources are organized by categories and subcategories.
cite: yosemite.epa.gov
Take the Smoke-free Home Pledge: (Prometa no fumar en su hogar)
Secondhand smoke affects everyone, but children are especially vulnerable because they are still growing and developing. EPA has created a new national Smoke-Free Home Pledge Initiative to motivate parents to protect their children.
cite: epa.gov/smokefree/
Ontario Medical Association:
Position paper on second-hand smoke. "... Second-hand smoke ranks third as a major preventable cause of death behind only active smoking and alcohol." The deleterious effects of second-hand smoke are particularly significant when one takes into account the fact that second-hand smoke usually victimizes non-smokers against their will. The recommendations included in this report will, if acted upon, lead to a significant reduction in the overall involuntary exposure of non-smokers, especially children, to second-hand smoke.
cite: oma.org/phealth/
Exposure to Second-Hand Smoke Widespread:
Nearly 9 out of 10 non-smoking Americans are exposed to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS, or second-hand smoke), as measured by the levels of cotinine in their blood, according to a study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (1996)
cite: cdc.gov
Celebrities Against Smoking The entertainment industry has the ability to create, reinforce and normalize messages. The Office on Smoking & Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is but one of many organizations sharing the responsibility to encourage the denormalization of tobacco use in entertainment.
cite: cdc.gov
Cigarette Smoke & Kids' Health:
Second hand smoke is a major cause of children's illness -- yet 85% of adults who smoke and who live with a child do not ensure that the child is not exposed to the smoke from their cigarettes.
cite: smoke-free.ca
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Help For Smokers
A Special Message For Smokers
This is a difficult time to be a smoker. As the public becomes more aware that smoking is not only a hazard to you but also to others, nonsmokers are becoming more outspoken, and smokers are finding themselves a beleaguered group. If you choose to smoke, here are some things you can do to help protect the people close to you.
cite: epa.gov/smokefree/
It's not like I'm hurting anyone but myself:
Tobacco companies worked hard for you to make us think that smoking was a civil right. And nonsmokers just had to put up with it. Now we know better.
cite: cdc.gov/tobacco/
How to Quit: Useful Resources to Quit Smoking:
To assist people in quitting smoking, helpful smoking cessation Web sites are listed. In addition, information abut the health consequences of tobacco use, tobacco prevalence, and tobacco prevention messages are included.
cite: cdc.gov/tobacco/
Help for Tobacco Addiction
Created by David Stamps of Laconia, NH. Dedicated to all those who are fighting to understand and oversome their tobacco addiction.
cite: smokehelp.org
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