Secondhand Smoke: Reducing Exposure

The NC Tobacco Prevention and Control Branch seeks to eliminate North Carolinians’ exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS). SHS has been linked with health problems such as heart disease, heart attack, lung disease, lung cancer and some other cancers. Childhood exposure to SHS can lead to upper respiratory infections, decreased lung capacity, ear infections, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and even behavioral problems and learning difficulties. Pregnant women exposed to SHS have increased risk of delivering prematurely or having an infant die of SIDS.

Exposure to secondhand smoke is a preventable cause of significant illness and death. Policies to ban smoking indoors reduce exposure to secondhand smoke, can reduce the number of cigarettes smoked each day and increase the number of smokers who quit.

According to the Task Force on Community Preventive Services, which reviewed published studies on secondhand smoke policy, smoking bans and restrictions are effective in reducing exposure to secondhand smoke.

According to the Task Force’s Guide to Community Preventive Services, smoking bans prohibit smoking from indoor areas of public places and workplaces. Studies showed an average reduction in exposure to components of secondhand smoke of 72%.

What Is Secondhand Smoke?

• Definitions and Facts from the Surgeon General's web site

Health Hazards

The US Surgeon General released a report in 2006 called The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke which explains all the known health risks of SHS and states, “there is no known safe level of exposure to SHS.”

Major Conclusions of the Surgeon General’s Report on Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke (2006)

1. Secondhand smoke causes premature death and disease in children and in adults who do not smoke.
2. Exposed children have increased risk for:
   • Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)
   • Acute respiratory infections
   • Ear problems
   • More severe asthma
3. Parents’ smoking impacts their children by
   • Causing respiratory symptoms
   • Slowing lung growth
4. Exposing adults to secondhand smoke causes
   • immediate adverse effects on the cardiovascular system
   • coronary heart disease
   • lung cancer
5. The scientific evidence indicates that there is no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke.
6. Many millions of Americans, both children and adults, are still exposed to secondhand smoke in their homes and workplaces despite substantial progress in tobacco control.
7. Eliminating indoor smoking fully protects nonsmokers from exposure to secondhand smoke.
8. Separating smokers from nonsmokers, cleaning the air, and ventilating buildings cannot eliminate exposure to secondhand smoke.

Additional Information

• The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke: A Report of the Surgeon General (2006)
  • Full Report (24.5 MB)
  • Full Report in Sections (check external site for file sizes, which vary by section)
  • Executive Summary (434 kb)
  • Consumer Summary (11 MB)
• CDC Commentary on Secondhand Smoke and Heart Disease
• View NC Start With Your Heart TV ad
• Information on Secondhand smoke from the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers