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Andile Tshuma

Experts say passive smoking is just as dangerous, if not worse than smoking. Passive smoking means breathing in other people’s tobacco smoke.

Smoking in the presence of children is also sick. It increases their risks of getting various respiratory ailments and infections. 

If you can’t give up smoking for your own health, perhaps the health of your partner or children, or other members of your household could be a stronger motivation.

In Zimbabwe, public smoking is a criminal offence under the Forestry Act. 

Smoking in public poses more health risks compared to public drinking, although in Zimbabwe public smokers often get away with it while public drinkers are often arrested and fined. Secondary smoke released into the atmosphere by a smoker is harmful to non-smokers because of its higher concentration of harmful chemical toxins.

Second-hand smoke has been confirmed as a cause of lung cancer in humans by several leading health authorities. If you have never smoked but you live with people who do smoke, you are at increased risk of a range of tobacco-related diseases, including lung cancer, heart disease and stroke.

In Bulawayo, some drivers of public service vehicles will huff and puff while carrying passengers and a passenger is most likely to receive a chilling backlash if he or she complains of the smoke.

There are some 4 000 known chemicals in tobacco smoke; at least 250 of them are known to be harmful and more than 50 are known to cause cancer in humans. Tobacco smoke in enclosed spaces is breathed in by everyone, exposing smokers and nonsmokers alike to its harmful effects.

According to the World Health Organisation, around 700 million children, or almost half of the world’s total, breathe air polluted by tobacco smoke. Over 40 percent of children have at least one smoking parent. In 2004, children accounted for 31 percent of the 600 000 premature deaths attributable to second-hand smoke.

In adults, second-hand smoke causes serious cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, including coronary heart disease and lung cancer. In infants, it causes sudden death syndrome. In pregnant women, it causes low birth weight. 

Neither ventilation nor filtration, even in combination, can reduce tobacco smoke exposure indoors to levels that are considered acceptable. 

Only 100 percent smoke-free environments provide effective protection. Contrary to common belief, smoke-free environments are widely supported by both smokers and non-smokers. 

Having a smoke-free environment often saves money for bars and restaurant owners, reducing their risks of fire and consequently their insurance costs. It often results in lower renovation, cleaning and maintenance costs, too. 

Article 8 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, recognises that exposure to tobacco smoke causes death, disease and disability, and asks countries to adopt and implement legislation that provides protection from second-hand smoke. 

Many countries around the world have already introduced laws to protect people from exposure to tobacco smoke in public places. 

A non-smoking pregnant woman is more likely to give birth earlier, and to a baby with a slightly lower birth weight if she is exposed to second-hand smoke in the home — for example, if her partner smokes.

Women who smoke are at greater risk of ectopic pregnancy and health risks for mothers who smoke during their pregnancy include increased risk of miscarriage and stillbirth, premature birth and low birth weight, sudden unexpected death in infants and fatal sleep accidents. Risks of complications during child birth also increase. 

A child who lives in a smoking household for the first 18 months of their life has an increased risk of developing a range of respiratory illnesses, including bronchitis, bronchiolitis and pneumonia. 

They are also more prone to getting colds, coughs and glue ear (middle ear infections). Their lungs are weaker and do not grow to their full potential. 

 A child exposed to second-hand smoke in the home is more likely to develop asthma symptoms, have more asthma attacks and use asthma medications more often and for a longer period. School-going age of children of people who smoke are more likely to have symptoms such as cough, phlegm, wheeze and breathlessness. Children of people who smoke have an increased risk of meningococcal disease, which can sometimes cause death or disability.

Passive smoking increases the risk of heart disease and stroke. There is consistent evidence that people who do not smoke, who live in a smoky household, have higher risks of coronary heart disease and stroke than those who do not. 

 

Passive smoking makes the blood more “sticky” and likely to clot, thereby leading to increased risk of various health conditions, including heart attack and stroke

There is evidence that passive smoking is associated with lower levels of antioxidant vitamins in the blood.

According to health experts, just 30 minutes of exposure to second-hand smoke can affect how your blood vessels regulate blood flow, to a similar degree to that seen in people who smoke.

Long-term exposure to passive smoking may lead to the development of atherosclerosis (narrowing of the arteries). 

People who do not smoke who suffer long-term exposure to second-hand smoke have a 20 to 30 percent higher risk of developing lung cancer. 

There is increasing evidence that passive smoking can increase the risk of nasal  sinus cancer, throat cancer, larynx cancer, breast cancer long- and short-term respiratory symptoms, loss of lung function and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease among people who do not smoke.

If you smoke but you are unwilling or unable to stop immediately, there are various ways to help protect the health of the people you live with. 

Some of the steps that can be taken to protect your loved ones are making your home smoke-free. 

Limiting your smoking to one or two rooms is not an effective measure as tobacco smoke can easily drift through the rest of the house.

Make sure that visitors to your house smoke their cigarettes outdoors and ensure your car is smoke-free as the other occupants will still be exposed to tobacco smoke even if the windows are open. 

Don’t allow smoking in any enclosed space where people who do not smoke spend time — for example, in the garage, shed, cubby house, boat or caravan.

Try to avoid taking children to outdoor areas where people are smoking and you can’t easily move away and ensure that all people who look