Health Zone: Smoking endangers those around you, see how!

The World Health Organisation has raised a fresh alarm over the effects of passive smoking in the body.

The global body on Wednesday noted that despite the ban on smoking in public places, tobacco smoking remained an epidemic that is increasing cases of killer diseases such as stroke, liver and lung cancer.

Why are WHO experts more worried about this habit than before? According to them, smoking has grave consequences not just on the health of the smoker but also on the wellbeing of those living around them, their spouses, kids and colleagues.

Family health physician, Dr. Tajudeen Awoniyi, defines a passive smoker as one who inhales and breathes in other peoples tobacco smoke. According to him, such a persons is exposed to the same health challenges as the active smoker.

He says, “As a second-hand smoker, you are inhaling almost the same amount of chemicals as the smoker breathes in. So that we are clear on the danger of this, scientific analysis shows that tobacco smoke contains more than 4,000 different chemical compounds, more than 50 of which are known to cause cancer.”

Experts say that most of the smoke from a burning cigarette is not sucked down into a smoker’s lungs – it escapes into the air, where it can be inhaled by anyone unfortunate enough to be nearby.

According to him, second hand smoking is the highest cause of sudden deaths in infants, who have a parent that smokes, while pregnant women, who inhale the second hand smoke of their spouses, will experience frequent miscarriages.

“Passive smoking is a cause of sudden deaths. A child who lives in a household where there is a smoker has an increased risk of developing a range of respiratory illnesses and pneumonia.

“Smokers’ neighbours will be prone to getting cold, cough and their lungs will have a reduced ability to function and grow because they are busy trying to process the smoke they inhale from the environment. A child that is exposed to second-hand smoke in the home is more likely to develop asthma,” he states.

The WHO adds that secondhand smoking has increased the population of people living with heart diseases and warns that people must protect themselves against tobacco smoke inhalation at all costs.