Tobacco smoke used to fill the air of Irish pubs before the smoking ban came into effect on March 29, 2004Passive smoking is the involuntary inhalation of smoke from tobacco products. It occurs when tobacco smoke permeates any environment, causing its inhalation by all people within that environment. Such smoke is called secondhand smoke (SHS) or environmental tobacco smoke (ETS). Scientific evidence shows that exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke causes death, disease and disability. The risks associated with passive smoking are one of the main reasons for smoking bans in workplaces and indoor public places, including restaurants, bars and night clubs.
Research has generated scientific evidence that secondhand smoke (that is, in the case of cigarettes, a mixture of smoke released from the smoldering end of the cigarette and smoke exhaled by the smoker) causes the same problems as direct smoking, including heart disease, cardiovascular disease, lung cancer, and lung ailments such as COPD, bronchitis and asthma. Specifically, meta-analyses have shown lifelong non-smokers with partners who smoke in the home have a 20–30% greater risk of lung cancer, and those exposed to cigarette smoke in the workplace have an increased risk of 16–19%. A study issued in 2002 by the International Agency for Research on Cancer of the World Health Organization concluded that nonsmokers are exposed to the same carcinogens as active smokers. Epidemiological studies show that non-smokers exposed to secondhand smoke are at risk for many of the health problems associated with direct smoking. In 1992, the Journal of the American Medical Association published a review of the available evidence regarding the relationship between secondhand smoke and heart disease, and estimated that passive smoking was responsible for 35,000 to 40,000 deaths per year in the United States in the early 1980s. Some studies find that non-smokers living with smokers have about a 25% increase in risk of death from heart attack, are more likely to suffer a stroke, and can sometimes contract genital cancer. Some research, with better measures of secondhand smoke exposure suggests that risks to nonsmokers may be even greater than this estimate. A British study reported that exposure to secondhand smoke increases the risk of heart disease among non-smokers by as much as 60%, similar to light smoking.
Parental smoking can affect children and babies, and is associated with low birth weight, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), bronchitis and pneumonia, and middle ear infections
In France passive smoking has been estimated to cause between 3,000[69] and 5,000 premature deaths per year, with the larger figure cited by Prime minister Dominique de Villepin during his announcement of a nationwide smoking ban: “That makes more than 13 deaths a day. It is an unacceptable reality in our country in terms of public health.”
Recent major surveys conducted by the U.S. National Cancer Institute and Centers for Disease Control have found widespread public belief that secondhand smoke is harmful.
A 2007 Gallup poll found that 56% of respondents felt that secondhand smoke was “very harmful”, a number that has held relatively steady since 1997. Another 29% believe that secondhand smoke is “somewhat harmful”; 10% answered “not too harmful”, while 5% said “not at all harmful”. Regarding smoking bans, the poll found a majority (54%) in favor of complete smoking bans in restaurants; however, most respondents favored designated smoking areas in hotels, motels and workplaces. In bars, the survey found that 45% prefer smoking areas, 29% support a smoking ban, and 23% want no restrictions on smoking.
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