Can Secondhand Smoke Cause Asthma

Reduce Exposure To Smoke

If you smoke, the best thing to do is to quit smoking. Quitting smoking is important whether you are a person with asthma or taking care of a child with asthma. The benefits of quitting include:2

• You will have fewer daytime and nighttime asthma symptoms.
• Your lungs will function better.
• Your airways will be less sensitive to triggers.
• You will need less rescue medication and inhaled corticosteroids.
• Your inhaled corticosteroids will work better.
• Your asthma-related quality of life will improve.

Even cutting back on how much you smoke can help, although the improvements are smaller.2

It is important for people with asthma to avoid tobacco smoke exposure. Studies have shown that if parents who smoke take steps to reduce tobacco smoke exposure, their children have fewer medical visits.1 Some ways to do this are:1

• Do not allow smoking in your home or car. Going outside to smoke may not be enough to avoid the risks to children.
• Do not allow anyone to smoke around you or your child.
• Be sure that no one at your childs school or daycare smokes.
• If you have a choice, try to live in a town or county with smoking bans. People who live in smoke-free counties have less smoke exposure, as measured by byproducts of second-hand smoke in the blood.9 They also go to the hospital less often.5

Health Risks To Children With Asthma

Asthma is the most common chronic childhood disease affecting 1 in 13 school aged children on average.

Exposure to secondhand smoke can cause new cases of asthma in children who have not previously shown symptoms.

Exposure to secondhand smoke can trigger life-threatening asthma attacks and make asthma symptoms more severe.

Study Population And Data Collection

This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . Written informed consents were obtained from all the participants prior to the survey. All Korean Community Health Survey data analyses were conducted in accordance with the guidelines and regulations provided by the KCDC.

Of the 917,012 total participants, we excluded the following participants in this study: the participants with a height less than 110cm or weight less than 30kg or who did not report their height or weight ; the participants who did not report their income ; the participants who did not report answers to the smoking questions ; the participants who did not report answers to the asthma-related questions ; and the participants who did not report answers to other survey questions . A total of 820710 participants, with ages ranging from 19 to 109 years, were included in this study. Among them, 551,801 participants were grouped as workers and 268,909 were grouped as non-workers according to their occupation histories.

Figure 1

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Secondhand Smoke And Lung Cancer Patients

• Data show that patients with non-small cell lung cancer who are exposed to secondhand smoke have worse outcomes.9;Including:
• Reduced overall survival.
• Reduced progression-free survival .
• Simply put: lung cancer patients exposed to secondhand smoke are more likely to die than patients not exposed.

What Is The Link Between Smoke And Teens

Secondhand smoke exposure is responsible for more asthma episodes in teenagers. There is evidence that teens exposed to secondhand smoke perform worse on lung function tests. They also have higher cholesterol levels and may be more likely to get heart disease as adults.

Fortunately, teens dont smoke as much as they used to. Even though only 13 percent of high school students say they currently smoke cigarettes , 46 percent have tried a tobacco product.

Many communities and local governments are trying to control tobacco advertising aimed at teens. The topic has been in the media a lot recently. In some states, parents who smoke have trouble getting custody in divorce cases.

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What About The Vape From E

The vape from e-cigarettes is considered less harmful than tobacco smoke both for someone vaping, and someone breathing in the vape. It has lower levels of toxins and is less polluting in the home.

But in our Annual Asthma Survey 14% of people with asthma told us that vaping, or being exposed to second-hand vape, triggered their asthma symptoms.

Until there is more evidence on the short- and long-term effects of vaping, and breathing in vape when you have asthma, consider avoiding vaping at home, in your car, or around your children.

You can read more about using;e-cigarettes as a stop smoking treatment here.;

What Are The Long

Secondhand smoke can cause cancer, heart disease, strokes and chronic lung disease. It can cause asthma in children. It can exacerbate symptoms or trigger attacks in those who already live with it. Your heart and lungs have to work harder. It increases the chances of breathing problems.

The CDC warns that any exposure to secondhand smoke is harmful. Your health can suffer if you are around smokers for as little as 10 minutes a day.

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How Does Smoking Affect Asthma

To start, smoking increases the risk of developing asthma. Heavier smokers are more likely to develop asthma than lighter smokers.2 A person with a 1 to 10 pack-year smoking history is twice as likely to develop asthma as a non-smoker.3 The risk of developing asthma is 5 times higher for a person with a 21+ pack-year smoking history than a non-smoker. Pack-years are calculated as the packs smoked per day times the number of years as a smoker.

For people who have asthma, smoking tobacco has been shown to:2,4

• Increase asthma symptoms
• Speed up the decline of lung function

The more you smoke, the more severe your asthma is likely to be.2

Can Smoking Harm My Unborn Child

Smoking harms both the mother and her unborn child. Along with harming the mothers lungs directly, nicotine, the addictive substance in tobacco products, and other substances are carried through the bloodstream of the mother and goes directly to the baby.

Children of mothers who smoked during pregnancy are more likely to have respiratory problems and are ten times more likely to develop asthma. Smoking during pregnancy has also been linked with low-weight newborns, premature births and sudden infant death syndrome.

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How Is Smoking Related To Asthma

If you have asthma, an asthma attack can occur when something irritates your airways and triggers an attack. Your triggers might be different from other peoples triggers.3

Tobacco smoke is a common trigger for asthma. Tobacco smokeincluding secondhand smokeis unhealthy for everyone, especially people with asthma.3,6 Secondhand smoke is a mixture of gases and fine particles that includes:4,5

• Smoke from burning tobacco products, such as cigarettes, cigars, or pipes
• Smoke that has been exhaled by someone who smokes

Secondhand smoke contains more than 7,000 chemicals, including hundreds that are toxic and about 70 that can cause cancer.6

If you have asthma, its important that you avoid exposure to secondhand smoke.3

If you are among the 21% of U.S. adults who have asthma and smoke, get help to quit smoking; talk to your doctor about treatments that can help you, or call . 7

How Is Secondhand Smoke Exposure Diagnosed

Most people who inhale secondhand smoke are not tested for exposure. If you regularly breathe in someone elses smoke, your doctor may test your saliva , urine or blood for amounts of inhaled nicotine.

Your healthcare provider also may test your lung function to measure damage. Pulmonary function tests can identify conditions related to secondhand smoke dangers, like asthma.

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Who Is At Greater Risk Of Damage From Secondhand Smoke

Secondhand smoke affects anyone near burned or exhaled tobacco, but some groups have more smoke exposure:

• Service industry workers, such as restaurant servers and bartenders: Anyone who works near groups of smokers may be unable to avoid secondhand smoke.
• Pregnant women: Secondhand smoke affects unborn children and their mothers. Lower amounts of oxygen available for the baby can increase fetal heart rates or lower the birth weight. Women may experience miscarriage, stillbirth, premature delivery or ectopic pregnancy.
• Infants, children and pets: Young children and animals cant always choose to leave a smoke-filled room. The constant exposure increases the harmful effects of secondhand smoke.

Secondhand Cannabis Smoke May Cause Allergy Worsen Asthma In Children

By Rob Goodier, Reuters Health

3 Min Read

– Secondhand marijuana smoke appears to have provoked a cannabis allergy and worsened the asthma of a 6-year-old child, researchers told the American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunologys annual conference in Seattle.

The findings may be the first reported case of cannabis allergy in a child, the researchers said November 16 as they described the details.

The young patient had poorly controlled asthma and lived with adult family members who often smoked marijuana at home. The boys grandmother also had a history of hives after smoking marijuana. Skin prick tests and blood tests confirmed that both the boy and his grandmother were allergic to cannabis.

The boys asthma improved after family members stopped smoking cannabis in the home, as confirmed by further medical tests and reports from the family.

Children exposed to secondhand marijuana smoke can become allergic to cannabis, which in turn may significantly worsen their asthma or allergy symptoms, said the reports lead author Dr. Bryce Hoffman, an Allergy and Immunology Fellow at National Jewish Health in Denver, Colorado. This is particularly concerning as the cannabis may not be suspected as a cause.

The problem may become more widespread as exposure rates increase with the trend toward cannabis legalization in U.S. states and other countries, Hoffman noted.

If they dont, they could miss a significant trigger for asthma and other allergy symptoms, Tuck said.

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How Is Asthma Treated

• Asthma is treated with a medication called Albuterol, which helps to open up the airways temporarily during an asthma attack. If your childs doctor thinks that your childs asthma is affecting his/her lifestyle, the doctor will prescribe a different inhaler that tries to decrease swelling deep in the lungs. This is called a controller inhaler or inhaled corticosteroid.
• Asthma is also treated by protecting your child from things in the environment that make their asthma worse; this can include: allergens and smoke.

The Risks Of Passive Smoking

Secondhand smoke is a lethal cocktail of more than 4,000 irritants, toxins and cancer-causing substances.

Most secondhand smoke is invisible and odourless, so no matter how careful you think you’re being, people around you still breathe in the harmful poisons.

Opening windows and doors or smoking in another room in the house doesn’t protect people. Smoke can linger in the air for 2 to 3 hours after you’ve finished a cigarette, even with a window open. Also, even if you limit smoking to one room, the smoke will spread to the rest of the house where people will inhale it.

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How Does Tobacco Smoke Affect Asthma

Asthma is a chronic disease that causes your airways to become inflamed, making it hard to breathe. Asthma triggers cause this inflammation. Triggers are things that bother people with asthma but may not bother other people. Tobacco smoke is one the most common triggers of asthma symptoms.

Symptoms of asthma include:

• Wheezing
• Shortness of breath
• Rapid breathing
• Chest tightness

When you think of the bad ingredients in tobacco, nicotine usually comes to mind. But tobacco smoke is full of many other toxic substances, like arsenic and cyanide.

In fact, tobacco smoke has more than 7,000 toxic chemicals. About 70 of them are known to cause cancer.1 With this in mind, its no surprise tobacco is one of the most common asthma triggers.

How Can I Keep Smoke Away From My Child Or Myself

Ways to reduce exposure to tobacco smoke include:

• If you smoke, quit. Quitting isn’t always easy, but there are many programs and methods to help. Ask your health care provider to help you find the one that is best for you. If your spouse or other family members smoke, help them understand the dangers of smoking and encourage them to quit.
• Do not allow smoking in your home or your car.
• Do not let anyone smoke around you or your child.
• Avoid restaurants and public places that permit smoking.

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Are There Any Laws To Protect Against Second

It is against the law to smoke or vape:

• In a motor vehicle with anyone under the age of 16 years. Most cars are airtight and the cigarette smoke has no place to escape. Opening a window can force the smoke to be blown directly back at the people in the car
• On school property at any time
• Inside or within 6 meters of a doorway, window or air intake of a public building or workplace.; Work vehicles are considered workplaces and are to be smoke and vape-free

Your community may have additional rules that make parks, playgrounds and other public places smoke and vape-free.

What Is In Tobacco Smoke

Tobacco smoke has more than;7,000 chemicals. This includes trace amounts of poisons like formaldehyde, arsenic, DDT and cyanide. More than 70 of the substances in tobacco smoke can cause cancer. Many more irritate the lungs and airways. The National Toxicology Program says secondhand smoke is a human carcinogen .

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What Are The Effects Of Secondhand Smoke On Babies

The risk of stillbirth or neonatal death increases for women that smoke during pregnancy. Smokers also risk heart defects and cleft palate in their newborns. Exposure to secondhand smoke can cause reduced birth weight and congenital malformations.

Infant development continues after birth. Developing brains and bodies are at higher risk from secondhand smoke exposure. Risks include:

• Developmental delays
• Higher incidence of dying from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
• Weaker and less developed lungs
• Frequent bouts of bronchitis and pneumonia in the first year of life
• Increased numbers of ear infections and colds
• Higher rates and severity of asthma as children
• Possible links to childhood cancers and brain tumors
• Plaque forming on arteries, increasing the risk for heart disease as adults

Sending An Antismoking Message

No one wants their child to start smoking, but it’s especially important to discourage this bad habit in kids who have asthma. If your child has asthma, smoking may actually undo the effect of any long-term control medicine. Your child also may need to use quick-relief medicine more often, visit the doctor or the emergency room more often, and miss school because of flare-ups.

Smoking also can cause sleeping problems and make it hard for kids to participate in sports or other physical activities. And of course, there are the long-term health consequences, such as heart disease, emphysema, and cancer.

Encourage your kids to say no if offered a cigarette. To lay the groundwork for that moment:

• Teach them the facts about smoking and the short- and long-term damage it can do.
• Talk about how expensive cigarettes and other tobacco products are.
• Discuss how smoking gives people bad breath, smelly clothes, and yellow teeth.
• Tell your kids they do not have your permission to smoke and, if they start, they’re not allowed to do it in your house or anywhere around your family.

If your child already smokes, you’re not alone. In 2015, about 2 out of every 100 middle school students and 9 out of every 100 high school students reported that they’d smoked cigarettes in the past month.;Nearly half of kids who smoke will become regular smokers, and almost all smokers started their habit before age 21.

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What Is Secondhand Smoke

News, Allergies, Asthma

Most people know that smoking is dangerous. In the past 50 years, the U.S. has seen a 50% decline in smoking. That has saved an estimated 8 million lives and almost a million deaths from lung cancer. It sounds like were doing well, especially if you dont smoke. Unfortunately, secondhand smoke puts nonsmokers, including children, at risk.

Secondhand smoke is defined as the combination of smoke from burning cigarettes and the smoke breathed out by smokers.

Secondhand smoke has more than 7,000 chemicals. Of those chemicals, hundreds are toxic, and 70 may cause cancer. This poses a risk for everyone, but people with allergies and asthma will suffer more. Inhaling secondhand smoke inflames the airways and weakens respiratory function. This can aggravate symptoms and trigger asthma attacks.

Some of the toxic components of secondhand smoke include:

• Ammonia
• Cyanide
• Formaldehyde

These chemicals are dangerous to breathe in and they coat surfaces where people smoke. They also settle into house dust for all to inhale.

Banning smoking in your home or car is a good start, but more education is needed about the dangers of secondhand smoke. Human health depends on smoke-free laws in public spaces and housing units.

Secondhand Smoke Harms Children

Secondhand smoke can cause serious health problems in children.2,4

• Studies show that older children whose parents smoke get sick more often. Their lungs grow less than children who do not breathe secondhand smoke, and they get more bronchitis and pneumonia.
• Wheezing and coughing are more common in children who breathe secondhand smoke.
• Secondhand smoke can trigger an asthma attack in a child. Children with asthma who are around secondhand smoke have more severe and frequent asthma attacks. A severe asthma attack can put a childs life in danger.
• Children whose parents smoke around them get more ear infections. They also have fluid in their ears more often and have more operations to put in ear tubes for drainage.

Parents can help protect their children from secondhand smoke by taking the following actions:9

• Do not allow anyone to smoke anywhere in or near your home.
• Do not allow anyone to smoke in your car, even with the window down.
• Make sure your childrens day care centers and schools are tobacco-free.
• If your state still allows smoking in public areas, look for restaurants and other places that do not allow smoking. No-smoking sections do not protect you and your family from secondhand smoke.

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