Toxic Risks of Passive Smoking

Toxic risks of passive smoking

Smoking is a very addictive habit that most people find very hard to pull out from. Secondhand or passive smoke affects the health of the people within the vicinity of the primary smoker (Azar, 2008). Secondary or passive smokers are innocent people who are exposed to smoke components are exposed to them by primary smokers. Most passive smokers are not aware of the health implications associated with passive smoking. On top of these, passive smoking contributes largely to indoor pollution.

There are two types of passive smoke namely 1) side stream smoke and 2) mainstream smoke. Side stream smoke is that which alienates from the end of a burning cigarette whilst mainstream smoke is one which is exhaled by a primary smoker to the environment. Researchers indicate that 80% of the effects of passive smoking come from side stream smoke (Azar, 2008). Activists who support the use of tobacco argue that a person has the right to choose whether to smoke or not and that smokers should not be criminalized. They go ahead to argue that the tobacco industry is a leading employer and contributor to the development of the country’s GDP (Feist & Brannon, 2009). They indicate that passive smoking has not yet being empirically proved to be harmful and therefore a ban on smoking would deny smokers the right of choice. They argue that a ban on smoking could result to loss of jobs therefore affecting the living conditions of countless families (Kabat, 2011).

However, these activists fail to reckon that the smokers also should consider the need for a clean environment, as the non smokers too have a right to a clean environment. They should consider the countless amounts of money used by the government to clean up secondary smoke or in treating cigarette related ailments. These costs exceed the amount generated by the tobacco industry. Azar (2008) indicates that passive smoking increases the risks of contracting lung cancer by 30% and that a passive...