Website of the Department of Health

• Last modified date:
  15 April 2008

Secondhand smoke kills.

The Government’s independent Scientific Committee on Tobacco And Health (SCOTH) reported in 2004 (reaffirimimg the conclusions of its report in 1998) that exposure to secondhand smoke can cause a number of seroius medical conditions:

• Lung cancer
• Heart disease
• Asthma attacks
• Childhood respiratory disease
• Sudden infant death syndrome, and
• Reduced lung function.

The World Health Organsiation has classified secondhand smoke as known human carcinogen.

In 2006, the US Surgeon General concluded that:

1. secondhand smoke causes premature death and disease in children and adults who do not smoke.
2. children exposed to secondhand smoke are at an increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), acute respiratory infections, ear problems and more severe asthma. Smoking by parents causes respiratory symptoms and slows lung growth in children.
3. exposure of adults to secondhand smoke has immediate adverse effects on the cardiovascular system and causes coronary heart disease and lung cancer.
4. the scientific evidence indicates that there is no risk-free level of exposure to secondghand smoke.

The US environmental Protection Agency classified secondhand smoke as a “classA2 human carcinogen along with asbestos, arsenic, benzene and radon.

In July 2005, the Royal Collge of Physicians also published a comprehesnsive report on second hand smoke ( pages 43-49 look at deathss from exposure to secondhand smoke). This report is available is availabe on the web at: http://www.smokefreeengland.co.uk/files/going-smokefree.pdf

In 2006, the Health Act was passed by Parliament that includes provisions to make enclosed public places and workplaces smokefree. This came into force on 1 July 2007.