A smoker who isn’t ready to give up yet might defend their decision to smoke by insisting it’s their choice and that their decision to smoke doesn’t harm anyone else. But a lot of damage is done to people who spend time around cigarette smoke, even if they’re not smoking themselves.
There are two types of ‘passive’ smoking, secondhand and thirdhand smoke.
Secondhand smoke
When you smoke a cigarette, most of the smoke enters the air around you. So-called ‘second hand’ smoking is when someone breathes in your smoke.
This can be just as dangerous as smoking a cigarette, and people who breathe in second hand smoke are just as likely to develop lung cancer and heart disease as smokers.
Secondhand smoke is especially dangerous for children and their developing lungs. The only way to protect children from the harm second hand smoke causes is to stop smoking – smoking in a different room, smoking out of a window or cleaning after you smoke won’t help.
Thirdhand smoke
Thirdhand smoke is the smoke that settles on surfaces when you smoke indoors. You may think that thirdhand smoke isn’t a big deal, but research has found that the toxins in cigarette smoke can linger on surfaces for months.
The chemicals in cigarette smoke, such as carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, benzene, and arsenic (to name just 4 out of the 7,000 chemicals in cigarette smoke) are still harmful to our health, even when we’re not directly breathing them in. These substances build up on surfaces over time, and hazardous gases are released each time they are touched.
Children are at greater risk of the harm thirdhand smoke can cause as they’re more likely to touch a variety of surfaces. Babies are especially at risk as they’re likely to put things in their mouths.
It’s difficult to get rid of thirdhand smoke. ‘Airing out’ a room doesn’t get rid of the third hand smoke that builds up, and neither does limiting your smoking to one room.
How to protect others
The harsh reality is that by smoking, you’re not only harming your own health but also the health of those around you. No matter how careful you think you’re being, if there are other people around your cigarette smoke will be a risk to them.
The only way to protect others is by not smoking at all. Instead of fighting a losing battle trying to shield loved ones from your smoke, put that energy into quitting smoking. You’re doing a great thing by showing up and every cigarette not smoked is one step closer to you being smokefree for good.
