We have known since the 1900s that tobacco smoke is harmful. Even secondhand smoke kills over one million people each year! But what makes it so dangerous? Fortunately, scientists have done the research to answer that question.
Although there are thousands of chemicals in tobacco smoke (studies suggest over 7,000!), some are more dangerous than others. Here is our list of the top 3 most dangerous substances and chemicals in tobacco smoke.
1 – PM2.5 (particulate matter smaller than 2.5 micrometers – 0.0025 millimeters)
Our first offender is PM2.5, very fine and tiny particles from tobacco smoke that embed deep in your lungs. Just think of cigarettes as miniature volcanoes that are erupting with ash. PM2.5 is the ash that erupts from the end of cigarettes, floats in the air, gets on your clothes, and into your lungs.
PM2.5 is harmful because it is too small for your airway hairs to trap, but too large for your immune system to fight. Thus it travels all the way to your alveoli, the smallest parts of your lungs, and can stay there indefinitely damaging airways. Imagine living beside an active volcano and constantly filling your lungs with ash, that’s what happens when you are exposed to secondhand smoke!
It’s no surprise that PM2.5 is associated with lung diseases (e.g. COPD) and cancers. But extraordinarily, these tiny ash particles can even be absorbed into your bloodstream, wreaking havoc throughout your body!
2 – CO (carbon monoxide)
Carbon Monoxide is a chemical that attaches to hemoglobin, interfering with your ability to absorb oxygen! CO is the same chemical that cars produce. Imagine putting your mouth around the exhaust of an old car; that’s only part of what happens when you breathe in secondhand tobacco smoke.
This means that when you breathe secondhand smoke, your body is not getting all the oxygen it needs! Peripheral and small blood vessels suffer the most, such as your gums. Organs that use high levels of oxygen also suffer! Your heart muscle needs constant oxygen supplies because it beats millions of times per year. When the oxygen flow is interrupted, your heart muscle stops working and heart attacks occur.
3 – Carcinogens (chemicals that cause CANCER)
Most people know that cigarettes cause lung cancer, but did you know tobacco smoke can cause cancers throughout your body? When you breathe secondhand smoke it goes from your lungs into your blood, which transports carcinogens everywhere in your body!
There are more than 70 known carcinogens in tobacco smoke. The most commonly researched carcinogens are PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons), aldehydes, and N-nitrosamines. A detailed discussion of the research is found in this journal article.
So what kinds of cancers can you expect to get from inhaling tobacco smoke (including secondhand smoke)? Easy, just name a body part or organ and you’ve found the answer. Obvious ones are mouth, throat, and lungs. Less obvious cancers are stomach, bowel, and breast. Cancer.org is an excellent resource for information on the risks of secondhand smoke and cancer.
Conclusion:
Secondhand smoke has thousands of chemicals that cause myriad diseases. Do you know how to decrease the risk of being exposed to secondhand smoke? In our next blog we will give you strategies to protect yourself from secondhand and thirdhand smoke.
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