Is the smoke from my cigarette really a health risk to others?

Tobacco smoke contains at least 60 substances that can cause cancer in humans. When you smoke, people around you are exposed to both the smoke from your cigarette and the smoke you exhale from your lungs. This combination is called secondhand smoke.

The smoke that nonsmokers breathe is less concentrated that that inhaled by smokers. However, research has linked secondhand smoke to significant health risks. Research studies have shown that:

• Healthy nonsmokers who live or work with smokers have a 30 to 50 percent higher-than-average risk of lung cancer. Scientists estimate that secondhand smoke causes about 3,000 to 6,000 lung cancer deaths per year among nonsmokers in the United States. Secondhand smoke also may play a role in the development of cancers of the nasal sinus cavity, cervix, breast, and bladder.

• Children of smokers have more respiratory problems and weaker lungs than do children of nonsmokers.

• Separating smokers and nonsmokers within the same area may reduce -- but does not eliminate -- a nonsmoker's exposure to secondhand smoke.

Based on these and other findings, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has classified secondhand smoke as one of the most dangerous cancer-causing substances in humans.

For one-on-one help with quitting tobacco, call your state quitline. If your state does not have a quitline, call the Smoking Quitline of the National Cancer Institute at 877-44U-QUIT (877-448-7848) between 9 am and 4:30 pm Monday through Friday.

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