More Reasons for Quitting

Smoking’s Impact on Others

Even a little secondhand smoke is dangerous.

Secondhand smoke can cause cancer in nonsmokers.  It can also cause breathing problems and heart disease. People who breathe secondhand smoke get colds and flu more easily. And they often die younger than those who don’t breathe it.

Pregnant women who breathe secondhand smoke have many risks:

• They may lose their babies.
• Their babies may be born small.
• Their babies are more likely to die of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome).
• Their children may be cranky‚ restless‚ and get sick more often.
• Their children are more likely to have learning problems.
• Children who breathe secondhand smoke have troubles too. They are much more likely to have breathing problems such as asthma. They also get more ear and lung infections (like pneumonia).

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Smoking and Tobacco Control Monograph 10: Health Effects of Exposure to Environmental Tobacco Smoke. National Cancer Institute‚ August 1999.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke: A Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta‚ GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services‚ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention‚ Coordinating Center for Health Promotion‚ National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion‚ Office on Smoking and Health‚ 2006.