| Passive smoking is simply breathing other people's | | | | engine's emissions. Three burning cigarettes in a room |
| smoke. It is also known as secondhand smoking, | | | | is a very common scene in everyday life. ETS has |
| involuntary smoking, and exposure to environmental | | | | also been found to have negative short and long-term |
| tobacco smoke (or ETS). It occurs when one breathes | | | | health effects to all ages of smokers and |
| "mainstream" and "sidestream" smoke. Researches | | | | non-smokers, even to fetuses of pregnant smoking |
| conducted by anti-smoking groups define mainstream | | | | mothers. It carries its own risks as well as aggravating |
| smoke as the smoke that is inhaled and then exhaled | | | | other environmental and health conditions. ETS has |
| by the smoker; and sidestream smoke as the smoke | | | | been established as harmful or at the very least, |
| that comes from the burning tip of a cigarette or any | | | | irritating. The question is, based on scientific evidence, |
| tobacco product. Another research defined | | | | how harmful is it? Is it quantifiable? |
| mainstream smoke as the smoke which a smoker | | | | This is the grey area where some responses or even |
| consumes directly when smoking, and sidestream | | | | results to researches have generated such opposite |
| smoke as the combination of exhaled smoke and the | | | | conclusions as statistically insignificant to increasing the |
| smoke that comes out of a cigar's burning end. | | | | risk of lung cancer by 16%. Some researches were |
| Mainstream smoke is nicotine in its particulate phase. | | | | purported to have scientific, statistical, and |
| Sidestream smoke is nicotine in its particulate phase | | | | methodological distortion in order to provide solid |
| moving into its gas or vapor phase. Because of this | | | | grounds for banning smoking in public places. While to |
| difference in their physical properties, it was concluded | | | | some extent this may be true, the links between |
| in the research that it was wrong to assume | | | | exposure to ETS and certain diseases cannot be |
| mainstream and sidestream smoke as identical with | | | | ignored; only, one cannot say that ETS is the main and |
| ETS. Majority of researches define ETS as the | | | | sole source of the health problem. The following have |
| combination of mainstream and sidestream smoke, | | | | been scientifically established and generally accepted: |
| sidestream smoke being the more dangerous type. | | | | There is a proven link between heart diseases and |
| The burning tip of a cigar is usually not hot enough to | | | | lung cancer to active smoking, |
| completely burn tobacco. This incomplete burning is | | | | Several known carcinogens are present in ETS, and |
| favored by some chemicals. Sidestream smoke | | | | The risks of certain diseases are directly related to the |
| actually carries higher concentrations of several | | | | amount of tobacco smoke inhaled. |
| chemicals including 2-naphthylamine, | | | | The direct harmful effects of ETS have become |
| N-nitrosodimethylamine, 4-aminobiphenyl, and carbon | | | | debatable and controversial mainly because of the ban |
| monoxide. | | | | or the threat to ban smoking in public places in some |
| Eighty-five percent of ETS comes from sidestream | | | | countries. When due process is not implemented, or |
| smoke. Mainstream smoke lasts only as long as a | | | | scientific process distorted to generate favourable |
| cigarette is burning, while sidestream smoke lasts as | | | | results, rights of a certain group of individuals will |
| long as one is in that room. | | | | always be taken away, either those of the smokers or |
| The buzz is on ETS for many reasons. ETS was | | | | non-smokers. Whether one agrees or not, there is a |
| found to be a much higher source of pollution than | | | | responsibility one must exercise over one's health and |
| ecodiesel engine, in terms of particulate matter or PM | | | | other people. Smoking may be an individual habit but its |
| emission. In a 60m³ room with very little air | | | | effects are widespread, long-term and affect |
| exchange with three cigarettes burning, PM | | | | everyone, in big and small ways. |
| concentrations measured up to 10-fold that of the | | | | |