Tobacco smoke pollution is more serious than many smokers would like to admit and most non-smokers would want to know about. According to experts, there are over 4,000 chemicals in tobacco smoke and thirteen of these the FDA will not even allow in any American food source. These include acetate, which is found in nail polish remover and paint stripper.

There is also arsenic, which is a poison that can lead to death. In addition, cigarette smoke contains methanol, benzene, carbon monoxide, DDT, formaldehyde, nickel, naphthalene and many other chemicals that are put into the air with cigarette smoke. Everyone who comes in contact with cigarette smoke can be negatively effected, especially children and even your pets.

Children and Tobacco Smoke

Children are often those who suffer the most from second hand smoke and smoke pollution. According to most health officials, smoke pollution increases the chances of many respiratory problems in children. These include asthma attacks, bronchitis and pneumonia. The EPA claims that 300,000 cases of respiratory infections a year are in response to second hand smoke. Over two hundred children per year die from illnesses brought about by cigarette smoke.

Your Pets and Tobacco Smoke

If you do not have children, but you have cats or dogs, your cigarette smoking will affect those that you love. One study indicates that environmental tobacco smoke can cause malignant lymphoma. The study, which was published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, monitored 80 cats with malignant lymphoma and 114 controls with renal disease. The study found that the risk increased with duration of exposure to the smoke and the amount of smoke in the house.

Conclusion

Many people who smoke know the risks that they present their own bodies with each time they take a puff. They may not fully understand, however, the danger in which they are putting their loved ones, including their animal friends, when they smoke. Air is something that humans must share with other humans and the environment around them. Environmental cigarette smoke is beyond harmful for both smokers and those around them.

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