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SECOND-HAND SMOKE FACTS
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Scientific studies
have concluded that cigarette smoking causes chronic lung
disease, coronary heart disease, stroke, cancer of the lungs,
larynx, esophagus, mouth, and bladder, and contributes to cancer
of the cervix, pancreas, and kidneys.
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The use of cigars
is known to cause lung, larynx, esophageal, and oral cancer.
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More than 440,000
people die in the United States from tobacco related diseases
every year, making it the nation's leading cause of preventable
illness.
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The World Health
Organization (WHO) estimates that by 2030, tobacco will account
for 10 million deaths per year, making it the greatest cause of
death worldwide.
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87.9% of
non-smokers showed detectable levels of cotinine (a metabolite
of nicotine) in their blood, the most likely source of which is
secondhand smoke exposure.
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Secondhand smoke
exposure causes as many as 300,000 children in the United States
to suffer from lower respiratory tract infections, such as
pneumonia and bronchitis, exacerbates childhood asthma, and
increases the risk of acute, chronic, middle ear infection in
children.
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The California Air
Resources Board has determined that secondhand smoke is a toxic
air contaminant, finding that exposure to secondhand smoke has
serious health effects including low birth-weight babies; Sudden
Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS); increased respiratory infections
in children; asthma in children and adults; lung, sinus and
breast cancer; heart disease; and death.
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Secondhand smoke
exposure adversely affects fetal growth, with elevated risk of
low birth weight and increased risk of Sudden Infant Death
Syndrome (SIDS) in infants of mothers who smoke.
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