Is Living In Your Home As Bad As Living In The Most Polluted City?

By Author: Nirmalya Mukherjee
Total Articles: 2
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Call it by any name – passive smoke, secondhand smoke (SHS), involuntary smoke or environmental tobacco smoke – it refers to the smoke coming from the burning end of a cigarette, cigar or pipe. Believe us when we say that the effect of passive smoking can be dangerous and even fatal. According to a recent research, smoke from the burning end of tobacco products can contain as many as 4,000 carcinogenic chemicals, including ammonia, arsenic, DDT, formaldehyde and cyanide. Exposure to environmental smoke can occur anywhere – in public places, cars, bars and restaurants. However, if you have a smoker in the family, the maximum exposure occurs right at your home. With a chain smoker around, your home is not a safe haven for its occupants, especially for your kids. In fact, a chain smoker turns your home into a hell, subjecting you to the lethal effects of tobacco.

Living with A Smoker Is As Bad As Inhaling the Air in the World's Most Polluted Cities

A team of Scottish researchers at the universities of Edinburgh and Aberdeen recently conducted a research study. It revealed that air-particle levels ...
... – substances like fine dust or soot that remain suspended in the air – in smoking households are almost 10 times higher than nonsmoking homes.

The team collected air samples from both smoking and non-smoking households and compared them to samples collected from some of the world’s most polluted cities such as Baizing, London and New Delhi. The outcome of the research was rather shocking. It was found that indoor air quality of homes where smoking is prevalent is drastically worse than those found in these highly polluted cities.

The study also maintained that over a lifetime, a non-smoker living with a smoker will inhale about 6 grams more particulate matters than a non-smoker living in a smoke-free home.

Babies Are More at Risk
Home is where kids spend the majority of their time. Constant exposure to polluted indoor air is going to badly affect your little one’s vital system. They become more vulnerable to severe asthma attacks, respiratory infections and ear infections. For infants, passive smoking can even lead to sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). This is not all, a recent French study linked parental smoking with a range of behavioral disorders in children such as aggression, disobedience, lying and cheating.

Here Are A Few Tips To Reduce Your Exposure To SHS:

• Politely request people not to smoke around you
• Do not allow anybody to smoke inside your car
• If you are near someone who is smoking, move to the window and keep it open
• Avoid places where smoking is allowed
• Equip your home with high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters to minimize the effects of secondhand smoking
• Do not employ nannies or babysitters who smoke
• Teach your children to stay away from secondhand smoke

According to a World Health Organization (WHO) estimate, one third of global population is regularly exposed to the harmful effects of passive smoking. This accounts for about 600,000 deaths per year. In addition to government initiatives, we, the common people, should also raise our voice against smoking in public places. After all, we all should put our wholehearted efforts at creating a better and cleaner place to live for the posterity.