Avoid dangers in the air you breathe

Secondhand smoke:
Breathing in the toxins in secondhand smoke can cause a variety of health problems, including lung cancer and asthma. Understand more and see how to avoid the dangers.

You don't smoke because you understand the dangers. But what about that thick cloud hanging in the air at your favorite restaurant? What about the haze left behind after your guests have departed after a night of partying? And what about the cigarette your spouse has left burning in an ashtray just a few feet away from your infant?

Are they all a danger, too?

Yes, they are. Compelling evidence indicates that secondhand smoke is a health hazard. And it's nearly as bad as smoking itself. Rich in toxic chemicals, secondhand smoke may play a role in causing or contributing to a number of health problems, from cardiovascular disease to cancer.

But secondhand smoke is often avoidable. Take steps to safeguard yourself and your loved ones from secondhand smoke.

Toxins in secondhand smokeWhat exactly is secondhand smoke? It's two different forms of smoke from cigarettes, pipes or cigars:

Sidestream smoke. This is smoke that wafts from the burning tobacco product. Mainstream smoke. This is smoke that the smoker exhales. Secondhand smoke is also known as environmental tobacco smoke, passive smoking, involuntary smoking and a newer, more descriptive term, tobacco smoke pollution.

Regardless of what you call it, both types of secondhand smoke contain harmful chemicals — and a lot of them. Specifically which chemicals are present depend on the type of tobacco product, how it's smoked and the paper in which the tobacco is wrapped. More than 4,000 chemicals make up the haze of secondhand smoke. And more than 60 of the chemicals in cigarette smoke are known to be carcinogenic, which means they may cause cancer.

Some of the substances found in secondhand smoke that are known or suspected to cause cancer include:

Formaldehyde
Arsenic
Cadmium
Benzene
Ethylene oxide

Here are a few other chemicals in secondhand smoke that might sound familiar, along with their effects on health:

Ammonia — irritates your lungs
Carbon monoxide — hampers breathing by reducing oxygen in your blood
Methanol — toxic when inhaled or swallowed
Hydrogen cyanide — interferes with proper respiratory function

The dangerous particles given off in secondhand smoke can linger in the air for hours. Even breathing them in for a short time — as little as 20 or 30 minutes — can harm your health in a variety ways. And breathing in secondhand smoke over years can be all the more dangerous.

In my next post, i will tell u all the health threats for Adults and Infants