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The Dangers of Secondhand Smoke Secondhand smoke is a mixture of the smoke given off by the burning end of a cigarette, pipe, or cigar and the smoke exhaled from the lungs of smokers. It has more than 4,000 chemicals, more than 40 of which are known to cause cancer. Exposure to secondhand smoke is called involuntary smoking or passive smoking. People who don’t smoke can get sick – even die-from breathing secondhand smoke. More than 53,000 nonsmokers die from secondhand smoke each year. Breathing secondhand smoke can cause heart disease, lung cancer, and many other health problems. Breathing secondhand smoke is a special problem for infants and young children. It increases the chance of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Children who breathe secondhand smoke suffer from pneumonia, bronchitis, and ear infections more often. They are also more likely to develop asthma, the leading serious chronic childhood disease in the United States. The best way to protect children from secondhand smoke is to make your home smoke-free. Even if you are still smoking you can have a smoke-free home, which will protect the health of your family.
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