What is secondhand smoke (SHS)?
Secondhand smoke is tobacco, or nicotine inhaled involuntarily due to exhaled smoke from smokers. When tobacco or nicotine is breathed in, small particles will always be breathed out, polluting the air and allowing those around to breath in small amounts of tobacco or nicotine. Though this is not nearly as much as smoking directly, the outcome is still costly. Not to mention, those who inhale secondhand smoke are not doing so voluntarily, while smokers are making a personal choice to harm themselves, and (usually) unitentionaly harming others. Because there isn't a way to stop everyone from smoking completely, therefore, necessary precautions must be taken to protect the public from SHS.
What are the effects of SHS?
The effects SHS is having on the public is costly for both public health and the economy. According to Cancer.org, “In the United States, the cost of extra medical care, illness, and death caused by SHS are over $10 billion per year (Cancer.org). Smoking is illegal throughout the nation, therefore, anyone can make the open, legal decision to smoke, with the awareness of the harmful effects. To reduce SHS in public, the state of Idaho has banned smoking tobacco and nicotine cigarettes indoors, however people will often smoke inside regardless of the law, particularly in Idaho's Boise Town Square Mall and the Boise Airport, making the no smoking law highly ineffective. This allows SHS inside public places where anyone from the elderly to children are subjected to air pollution caused by SHS. Direct smoking is known to drastically increase lung cancer and heart disease, along with other various diseases. Because these outcomes are so drastic, it's easy to forget the people who are unwillingly being subjected to these dangers, simply by breathing. Cleveland Clinic states the possible effects of time spent inhaling SHS, " 5 minutes – stiffens the aorta as much as smoking a cigarette, 20-30 minutes – causes excess blood clotting, as well as increases the build up of fat deposits in blood vessels, increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke, 2 hours – increases the chance of irregular heart beat (arrhythmia) and can trigger a fatal cardiac event or heart attack." (Clevelandclinic).
How will designated smoking areas or rooms help reduce SHS?
Many opposing sides argue that passing no smoking laws will reduce most to all SHS, and prevent the risk of allowing SHS into the main ventilation system, the way a smoking lounge could. The fault in this hypothesis is the reality that illegally smoking indoors is quite common, usually due to the inconvenience of going all the way outside. Why would people go in a smoking room if not outside? Often if people have a convenient option that eliminates the worry of getting a fine, they will choose this option simply because it's easy. Much of what appeals to the tenth-first century is convenience: if it's not convenient to go outside to smoke, people won't do it, putting everyone around them at risk. Therefore if there is a convenient option, it will be easier, in turn drastically reducing SHS in Idaho's public places, because people will not need to pollute the air to achieve conveniently smoking.
Secondhand smoke is tobacco, or nicotine inhaled involuntarily due to exhaled smoke from smokers. When tobacco or nicotine is breathed in, small particles will always be breathed out, polluting the air and allowing those around to breath in small amounts of tobacco or nicotine. Though this is not nearly as much as smoking directly, the outcome is still costly. Not to mention, those who inhale secondhand smoke are not doing so voluntarily, while smokers are making a personal choice to harm themselves, and (usually) unitentionaly harming others. Because there isn't a way to stop everyone from smoking completely, therefore, necessary precautions must be taken to protect the public from SHS.
What are the effects of SHS?
The effects SHS is having on the public is costly for both public health and the economy. According to Cancer.org, “In the United States, the cost of extra medical care, illness, and death caused by SHS are over $10 billion per year (Cancer.org). Smoking is illegal throughout the nation, therefore, anyone can make the open, legal decision to smoke, with the awareness of the harmful effects. To reduce SHS in public, the state of Idaho has banned smoking tobacco and nicotine cigarettes indoors, however people will often smoke inside regardless of the law, particularly in Idaho's Boise Town Square Mall and the Boise Airport, making the no smoking law highly ineffective. This allows SHS inside public places where anyone from the elderly to children are subjected to air pollution caused by SHS. Direct smoking is known to drastically increase lung cancer and heart disease, along with other various diseases. Because these outcomes are so drastic, it's easy to forget the people who are unwillingly being subjected to these dangers, simply by breathing. Cleveland Clinic states the possible effects of time spent inhaling SHS, " 5 minutes – stiffens the aorta as much as smoking a cigarette, 20-30 minutes – causes excess blood clotting, as well as increases the build up of fat deposits in blood vessels, increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke, 2 hours – increases the chance of irregular heart beat (arrhythmia) and can trigger a fatal cardiac event or heart attack." (Clevelandclinic).
How will designated smoking areas or rooms help reduce SHS?
Many opposing sides argue that passing no smoking laws will reduce most to all SHS, and prevent the risk of allowing SHS into the main ventilation system, the way a smoking lounge could. The fault in this hypothesis is the reality that illegally smoking indoors is quite common, usually due to the inconvenience of going all the way outside. Why would people go in a smoking room if not outside? Often if people have a convenient option that eliminates the worry of getting a fine, they will choose this option simply because it's easy. Much of what appeals to the tenth-first century is convenience: if it's not convenient to go outside to smoke, people won't do it, putting everyone around them at risk. Therefore if there is a convenient option, it will be easier, in turn drastically reducing SHS in Idaho's public places, because people will not need to pollute the air to achieve conveniently smoking.
"The AMA with a cooperative agreement from the Environmental Protection Agency, produced a video to help physicians educate parents about the health risks to their family associated with secondhand smoke exposure. The AMA thanks Children's Memorial Hospital, the children and their parents for telling their stories. The AMA would also like to thank former newscaster, Maryann Childers, for narrating the video."
This video displays the effects SHS has had and can have on children, which is why reducing SHS by creating designated smoking rooms are more necessary than ever.
This video displays the effects SHS has had and can have on children, which is why reducing SHS by creating designated smoking rooms are more necessary than ever.