Other People's Smoke
Saying No to Secondhand Smoke
If You Want to Do More
OrganizationsEnvironmental tobacco smoke (ETS), also called "secondhand smoke," is the combination of two forms of smoke from burning tobacco products:
- Sidestream smoke, or smoke that is emitted between the puffs of a burning cigarette, pipe, or cigar, and
- Mainstream smoke, or the smoke that is exhaled by the smoker.
When a cigarette is smoked, about half of the smoke generated is sidestream smoke, which contains essentially the same compounds as those identified in the mainstream smoke inhaled by the smoker. Some of the chemicals in ETS include substances that irritate the lining of the lung and other tissues, carcinogens (cancer-causing compounds), mutagens (substances that promote genetic changes in the cell), and developmental toxicants (substances that interfere with normal cell development). Tobacco smoke is known to contain at least 60 carcinogens, including formaldehyde and benzo[a]pyrene, and six developmental toxicants, including nicotine and carbon monoxide.
Nonsmokers who are exposed to ETS absorb nicotine and other compounds just as smokers do. As the exposure to ETS increases, the levels of these harmful substances in the body increase as well. Although the smoke to which a nonsmoker is exposed is less concentrated than that inhaled by smokers, research has demonstrated significant health risks associated with ETS.
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