Promoting a Smoke Free Environment

1. Promoting a Smoke Free Environment Chapter 21, Lesson 3

2. Vocabulary • Environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) – Air that has been contaminated by tobacco smoke. • Mainstream smoke – Smoke exhaled from the lungs of a smoker. • Sidestream smoke – Smoke from the burning end of a cigarette.

3. Risks for Smokers and Nonsmokers • Environmental tobacco smoke is composed of mainstream and sidestream smoke. Sidestream smoke is more dangerous than mainstream because it has a higher concentration of carcinogens, nicotine, and tar.

4. Secondhand smoke effects • 3,000 people every year are diagnosed with lung cancer caused by secondhand smoke.

5. Effects of smoke on Unborn children and infants • Nicotine passes through the placenta and constricts the blood vessels of the fetus • This causes low birth weight, miscarriage, prenatal death, deformities, and stillbirths • Babies of smokers are 2 ½ times more likely to die from SIDS. • Infants exposed to smoke are at increased risk of ashtma, tonsillitis, and respiratory tract infections.

6. Effects of Smoke on Young Children • Sore throats, ear infections, and upper respiratory problems • Children who live with smokers have double the risk of developing lung cancer than children of nonsmokers.

7. Reducing your Risks • Politely ask visitors not to smoke • If someone in your house smokes, open windows to allow fresh air to circulate • Use air cleaners to remove contaminants • Sit in smoke free areas at restaurants