Second hand smoke isn’t as dangerous as inhaling directly from a cigarette, but prolonged exposure to it is considered a serious hazard. Vapers produce clouds of vapor by heating e-liquid with an atomizer that houses a small metal coil, which turns it into the vapor you see. The vapor from e-cigs doesn’t have any carbon monoxide or tar.
What is secondhand smoke and why is it so dangerous?
Smoking by parents causes respiratory symptoms and slows lung growth in their children. Exposure of adults to secondhand smoke has immediate adverse effects on the cardiovascular system and causes coronary heart disease and lung cancer. The scientific evidence indicates that there is no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke.
Is second hand smoke more deadly than first hand smoke?
Secondhand smoke was generally believed to be more harmful than primary smoke. Mechanisms for the potency and health effects of secondhand smoke involved the smell of secondhand smoke, secondhand smoke being an infection and affecting the immune system, and personal strength being protective of secondhand smoke.
How bad is second hand smoke really?
Secondhand smoke is the third leading preventable cause of disability and early death (after smoking and alcohol) in the United States. Secondhand smoke causes 3,000 lung cancer deaths and more than 50,000 coronary heart disease deaths each year in the United States.
How bad is secondhand smoke?
Secondhand smoke is associated with disease and premature death in nonsmoking adults and children ( 3, 7 ). Exposure to secondhand smoke irritates the airways and has immediate harmful effects on a person’s heart and blood vessels. It increases the risk of heart disease by about 25 to 30% ( 3 ).
How does second hand smoking affect the world?
Secondhand smoking kills tens of thousands of people every year in the United States alone. It can cause sudden infant death syndrome and lung issues in children. In adults, it can lead to serious health conditions later in life, such as stroke, heart disease, and lung cancer—even in people who never smoked themselves. 1
How does an e-cigarette work?
E-cigarette devices use metal coils to heat the vaping fluid, and over time, small amounts of metals can sometimes get into the aerosol after repeated use at high temperatures. 6 . While the person vaping will breathe in the full brunt of these toxins, some will be exhaled into the air.
How many states are banning smoking in 2020?
According to the American Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation, as of January 2020, 19 states and over 900 municipalities have included e-cigarettes and other electronic smoking devices in their laws and policies banning smoking in certain environments, such as schools or workplaces. 11 .
Is second hand vaping bad for you?
Secondhand Vaping as a Gateway. In addition to the still uncertain health risks associated with breathing in e-cigarette aerosol, being around people who vape could have other consequences—particularly for adolescents who are more likely to be influenced by social norms and visual cues.
Does vaping hurt your lungs?
Short-term studies didn’t find evidence that secondhand vaping hurts lung function , with one notable exception. Researchers found that people who were around vaping aerosol showed increases in the serum cotinine, which is a marker that someone was exposed to nicotine (an ingredient often found in e-cigarettes). 7 Given the long list of health risks posed by nicotine, more research needs to be done on how this exposure could affect someone’s lungs long-term like it can with secondhand smoke.
Can vaping affect non-vapers?
It’s still not clear how the toxins found in secondhand vaping can affect the health of non-vapers, especially long-term. The limited research available so far has largely focused on immediate health effects. That said, there are some concerns about how repeatedly inhaling e-cigarette aerosol over an extended period of time could affect bystanders’ long-term lung function and risk of allergic reactions.
Can vaping cause lung injury?
UPDATE: Recent illnesses have been associated with use of e-cigarettes (vaping). Since the specific causes of these lung injury cases are not yet known, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends refraining from all vaping products.
What is secondhand vaping?
Secondhand vaping is exactly what it sounds like: if you're near a person breathing out vapor from an e-cigarette, you generally breathe in the same air that they're exhaling and can inhale the same vapor.
What to do if someone uses e-cigarettes?
If someone close to you, like a parent, caretaker or coworker, uses e-cigarettes, you can kindly ask them to stop while you're around. Frame it as a way to protect both your health and theirs, and hopefully they'll respect your wishes.
Is vaping a health risk?
E-cigarettes can emit a huge cloud of vapor that can affect an entire crowd of people. Getty Images. When vaping first gained popularity, it was marketed as a healthier alternative to traditional cigarettes. However, a recent surge in illnesses, hospitalizations -- and even deaths -- has shown that there may be much scarier health risks associated ...
Does vaping harm the lungs?
The vapor can also harm bystanders ' lungs and contribute to lasting damage ...
Does vapor contain nicotine?
Another study from 2018 found that the vapor not only contains nicotine, but also heavy metals, aldehyde and glycerin, even though vaporizer companies try to paint these products as healthier in every way. These chemicals contribute to the health risk posed by secondhand vaping.
Is vaping a teenager phenomenon?
E-cigarettes are becoming more and more of a teenage phenomenon. With more teens than ever now vaping, it seems like the younger folks who are more at risk. A third of high-schoolers and middle-schoolers reported that they were exposed to vaping aerosol in 2018.
Can you vape with your friends?
If you really want to avoid the negative health effects of secondhand vaping, you may just want to not hang out with your friends while they're using e-cigarettes. Or, if you're reading this and you are an e-cigarette user who's not ready to give it up yet, at least don't vape around other people (especially kids).
Who studied the dangers of second hand vaping?
Igor Burstyn’s study of the possible dangers of secondhand vaping attempted to “estimate potential exposures from aerosols produced by electronic cigarettes and compare those potential exposures to occupational exposure standards.” His conclusion: “Exposures of bystanders are likely to be orders of magnitude less, and thus pose no apparent concern.”
What is secondhand vapor?
Secondhand vapor (which is technically an aerosol) is the vapor exhaled into the atmosphere by an e-cig user. Like secondhand smoke, it lingers in the air long enough that anyone in the same room (assuming the room is small enough) is likely to inhale some of the exhaled aerosol. As the name indicates, the bystanders are not inhaling secondhand (or passive) smoke—because secondhand e-cigarette vapor simply isn’t smoke.
What is the difference between e-cigarettes and vapor?
E-cigs heat e-liquid with a small metal coil housed in an atomizer , and the heat turns the e-juice into the vapor you see. E-cigarette vapor doesn’t have any carbon monoxide or tar, and the particles in the aerosol are liquid rather than solid. Dangerous chemicals and metals are found in vapor, but only in tiny quantities.
Is third hand nicotine inhaled or exhaled?
What isn’t inhaled falls to the ground quite rapidly. Those concerned with “thirdhand nicotine”—the unabsorbed nicotine that lands on floors and furniture—might make a case for not vaping around kids or pets who might lick the surfaces. But there’s not much nicotine left in the settled residue. According to a 2016 University of California-San Francisco study, 93.8 percent of the inhaled nicotine is retained by the user, and is not part of the exhaled vapor.
Does vaping contain VG?
Aside from propylene glycol and glycerin (PG and VG) —the two glycols that make up the base of virtually all e-liquids—what vapers exhale into the air doesn’t contain high levels of anything. According to Drexel University toxicologist Igor Burstyn, while the contents of e-cig vapor inhaled by users “justifies surveillance,” there is so little contamination in exhaled vapor that there is unlikely to be any risk for bystanders.
Can you vape inside a house?
If you encounter people vaping inside a house, all of the secondhand vapor you see comes out of the mouths of the vapers in the room. There is no side stream “vape smoke” like there is side stream tobacco smoke from cigarettes—no constant emission of vapor pouring from the device when it’s not being used.
Is nicotine in vapor residue?
But there’s not much nicotine left in the settled residue. According to a 2016 University of California-San Francisco study, 93.8 percent of the inhaled nicotine is retained by the user, and is not part of the exhaled vapor.
What is second hand smoke?
Secondhand smoke is smoke from burning tobacco products, like cigarettes, cigars, hookahs, or pipes. 1,6,7. Secondhand smoke also is smoke that has been exhaled, or breathed out, by the person smoking. 6,7.
What happens if you breathe secondhand smoke?
Babies and children who breathe secondhand smoke are sick more often with bronchitis, pneumonia, and ear infections than those that are not exposed to secondhand smoke.
How many people died from secondhand smoke?
Secondhand smoke can cause health problems in children and adults, and can even be deadly. 1,2,6 Since 1964, about 2,500,000 people who do not smoke have died from health problems caused by secondhand smoke exposure. 1. Because more communities and states are adopting smokefree laws, the number of adults exposed to secondhand smoke in public places ...
Why are infants and young children especially vulnerable to health risks from secondhand smoke?
Because their bodies are still growing, infants and young children are especially vulnerable to health risks from secondhand smoke.
How long can you smoke from one cigarette?
Smoke from one cigarette can stay in a room for hours. Don’t smoke at home, even when children aren’t there.
What to do if a loved one smokes?
If a loved one smokes, support them by encouraging them to quit. Get rid of all ashtrays and tobacco products in your home. Don’t let anyone smoke in or around your house. If you have children or if you take care of children in your home, do not allow anyone to smoke there.
How many chemicals are in tobacco smoke?
There are more than 7,000 chemicals in tobacco smoke, including hundreds of chemicals that are toxic and about 70 that can cause cancer. 1 Here are just a few of the chemicals and poisons in tobacco smoke:
Why is vaping so difficult?
This is due to the difficulty in correctly identifying what they inhaled, especially when they are intubated or unconscious.
Why is vaping so popular among teens?
First publicized as a safer alternative to smoking tobacco, vaping caught on because it didn't contain the carcinogens or tars found in most smoking tobacco products. Also, vaping was supposed to eliminate the dangers of secondhand smoke to those nearby.
How long does a vape last?
Did you know most cigarettes are smoked within two to five minutes? E-cigarettes on the other hand can last up to 20 minutes, delivering more nicotine and damaging chemicals to the lungs. In addition, some vaping mixtures can contain 20 times the nicotine that a single cigarette contains.
What is an e-cigarette?
E-cigarettes are battery-operated devices that heat a liquid solution — usually, but not always, containing nicotine — turning it into a vapor that can be inhaled . If the base nicotine mixture is not palatable, many flavors, such as mint, apple and others, can make vaping attractive, especially to adolescents.
How to help a teenager who is vaping?
Encourage your teen to look into the warnings and media stories related to vaping, or reach out to his or her primary care provider with questions.
How to tell if a child is vaping?
Talk with your kids about the dangers of vaping, but also look for warning signs including: 1 Changes in emotions 2 Trouble sleeping 3 Scents of fruity odors on skin, breath and clothes 4 Strange cylinders, chargers or batteries lying around
Is vaping bad for teens?
Adolescents often feel that bad things happen to everyone else, but the risks associated with vaping are real. Many teens are taking things a step further, adding cannabis, CBD oils and other dangerous additives to vaping devices.
Is vaping a tobacco issue?
It is commonplace for tobacco consumption (of any kind) to be tied with vaping. Only a few days ago, anti-vape legislation went into effect in NYC. Four pieces of the bill directly addressed vape businesses as well as users, despite that fact that the legislation was touted as an anti-tobacco campaign.
Is secondhand smoke linked to lung cancer?
While there is a clear relationship between those who smoke and the occurrence of lung cancer, there is no evidence to suggest that secondhand smoke is linked to the disease.
Is second hand smoke bad for you?
Obviously, breathing secondhand smoke is not a good thing, especially for babies, young children, and adolescents. We all know that smoking is bad for you – it’s not news, but looking at all sides of an issue is important. If you’re like me, the study above might have you asking “what now?”
Is secondhand vapor harmful?
There is no, repeat no, research to suggest that secondhand vapor is harmful. The closest we have to any research even examining the topic was conducted in 2014. Dr. Burstyn sought to examine the inhalation of vapor though occupational exposure standards. Ultimately, he concluded that there was very little risk to vapers.
