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Smoke from tobacco that is
inhaled by a person in the vicinity of a smoker is called secondhand smoke. It
is a combination of the exhaled smoke from the smoker and smoke from the
tobacco itself. When a person inhales secondhand smoke, he or she is exposed to
the same chemicals including nicotine and toxins as the smoker.
When children are exposed to
secondhand smoke, they too are prone to health risks. According to studies
about 35% of children in the U.S. live in homes where their parents or a
relative smokes regularly. A Research done that included children whose family
members does not smoke but lives in a neighborhood where smoking occurs
regularly, showed that 50 – 75% of those
children were found to have cotinine or the breakdown product of nicotine
present in their blood.
The most common source of
secondhand smoke are cigarettes, pipe smoke and cigars. There have been about
250 harmful chemicals identified in secondhand smoke and this included at least
50 carcinogens. Some of these chemicals include cadmium, ethylene oxide, vinyl
chloride, arsenic and benzene... Read more from: Dangers And Effects Of Secondhand Smoke