Latest findings on secondhand smoke

What are the latest findings on secondhand smoke?

The scientific evidence on the health risks associated with exposure to secondhand smoke is clear and overwhelming. Secondhand smoke is a known cause of heart disease, lung cancer, low birth-weight births, chronic lung ailments, as well as other serious health problems. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly 50,000 Americans die each year from heart disease and lung cancer attributable to secondhand smoke exposure.

The latest findings on secondhand smoke include the following

• Tobacco smoke contains more than 7,000 chemicals and compounds, including hundreds that are toxic and at least 69 that cause cancer.
• Every exposure to the cancer-causing chemicals in tobacco smoke can damage DNA in a way that leads to cancer.
• Exposure to secondhand smoke has an immediate adverse impact on the cardiovascular system, damaging blood vessels, making blood more likely to clot and increasing risks for heart attack and stroke.