Think Secondhand Doesn’t Matter? Think Again!

The advertisement for a secondhand item on Etsy reads “comes from a home with secondhand smoke.” Secondhand smoke is a mixture of the smoke exhaled by smokers and that given off by lighted tobacco products like cigarettes and cigars. The box of vintage microscope slides one of my colleagues is considering as a gift for her son is in mint condition, except for the stale odor of decades of secondhand smoke which permeate the cardboard.

Sometimes secondhand doesn’t matter. And sometimes it does.

Ultimately, my colleague doesn’t want that nasty odor in her home, and it’s a shame to throw away that artsy packaging, so she takes a pass on the purchase. Now imagine what you’d do if your entire home was permeated with the secondhand smoke?

In 1993, the EPA issued the landmark report, Respiratory Health Effects of Passive Smoking: Lung Cancer and Other Disorders which designated secondhand smoke as a group-A carcinogen: a known human cancer-causing agent. Since then, in the United States, we’ve become increasingly vigilant about reducing our exposure to secondhand smoke. Twenty-five years ago, when the report was issued, about 80 percent of non-smokers were exposed to secondhand smoke. By 2014, that number had dropped to 25 percent. A year later, we’d learn that 86 percent of homes were smoke free, twice as many as in 1993.

Take the “Quit Smoking Quiz,” and learn how and why it matters.

If you’re still fighting the secondhand smoke battle on the home front, here are some tools you can use to educate the folks around you who aren’t getting the message about the critical nature of indoor air quality.

Look at the diseases caused by secondhand smoke – it graphically affects both children and adults!

The CDC Health Fact Sheet on Secondhand Smoke offers hard evidence for your case.

Thirteen Tips to Quit Smoking from WebMD can help your loved one get started in the right direction.

When someone you loves decides to stop smoking, that’s good news, particularly in a state like North Carolina, with an agricultural history that includes tobacco as a major cash crop. But what if the smoker lives next door, such as in an apartment or town home?

How to Stop Secondhand Smoke from Coming Into Your Apartment

Over the years since the 1993 report, smoke-free rules have been adopted in areas including restaurants and bars, workplaces, enclosed public places, and college campuses. Today, there are about 25 statewide smoke-free laws in the U.S., and more than 900 other state and local laws.

This emphasis on air quality in public spaces also raising the ancillary questions related to synthetic fragrance and its troubling role in many emerging health issues. It’s possible the toxicity of phthalates and petrochemicals found in products labelled to contain “fragrance” are a big environmental threat, causing cancer, birth defects, asthma, allergies, and a range of other illnesses.

Fragrance is the New Secondhand Smoke shares problems believed to be attributed to synthetics scents.

Yesterday, the Asheville parking deck ticket dispenser across from the courthouse spouted a tape recording along with my pass, reminding me that I’d entered a #smokefree facility! We’re reminded that in 2017, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development issued a rule that requires all public housing to implement a smoke-free policy by July 31.

Let’s raise awareness about the importance of air quality to healthiness in our homes and shared spaces. I hope you’ll post your own thoughts about #smokefree and #secondhandsmoke with me on social media.