FACT AND FIGURES
Punishing the innocent
How our second-hand smoke affects other people.
Fact 1
Secondhand smoke is simply other people's tobacco smoke. Wherever people smoke, there is secondhand smoke in the air.
Breathing in secondhand smoke is sometimes called passive smoking.
Secondhand smoke contains…
- Side stream smoke - smoke from the tip of the cigarette.
- Mainstream smoke - smoke that is breathed back out by the smoker.
Secondhand smoke hangs around for ages and most of it is invisible and odourless. Even if you can’t see it or smell it and open up the windows it will still be in a room for a long time after the cigarette has been put out. Smoking in a car is even worse because all of the smoke is concentrated into a small space 1.
Fact 2
Non-smokers who breathe in secondhand smoke are at risk of the same diseases as smokers, including cancer and heart disease!
Fact 3
Secondhand smoke contains 4,000 toxic chemicals and it is estimated that it causes thousands of deaths each year.
Fact 4
Every year, 17,000 children are admitted into UK hospitals with illnesses caused by parents’ smoking such as asthma and glue ear2.
Last year, over 230 children with smoking-related illnesses were admitted to Camden hospitals3. How do we feel about that?
Fact 5
There is help available. To help protect children from the harmful effects of secondhand smoke, Smokefree Camden and Sure Start Camden are helping local families to make their home smokefree. This is because babies and children are most sensitive to cigarette smoke 4.