Killing loved ones, softly.

One main reason smoking is widely campaigned against allover across the world is because it not only affects the smoker but it is also a menace to their loved ones they have around them. The mot exposed are the innocent wife and children or the pet lying beside the smoker, totally oblivious of the poison they are breathing in.

Such kind of smoking is called second hand smoking. It is the smoke coming out from burning tobacco products, such as cigarettes, cigars, or pipes. Secondhand smoke is also the smoke that has been exhaled, or breathed out, by the person smoking. Tobacco smoke contains many chemicals, including hundreds that are toxic and about 70 that can cause cancer.

In fact, the smoker gets the filtered smoke while he puffs in which is absent for the passive smokers. It is found that a regular smoker inhales only 15 percent of the nicotine, while 85 percent is exhaled making others exposed.

Secondhand smoke is not that dangerous in the open. But, restriction of smoking at public places leaves with smokers their home as the only place to smoke, where regular inhaling of the unfiltered smoke could lead to cancer.

Doctors say, whenever they find a patient who is a non smoker and is diagnosed with lung cancer, maximum chances are that person has been a victim of second hand smoking either by their husband or office colleagues..What’s worse is that the numbers are increasing.

According to The Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) India , 62.4% of adults were exposed to second hand smoke at home while 29.8 percent in public places in West.

The biggest problem with smoking is that it socially acceptable. When a kid watches his father smoking without any intervention, the chances of his taking up smoking rise anyway. Not only cancer, but passive smoking could lead to other diseases like breathing problems and heart diseases.

Second hand smoking during pregnancy can be worse as the smoke is dangerous to the developing baby which can cause premature delivery, low birth weight, limited mental ability, trouble with learning.

Chances of getting affected is higher in male with 30 percent while it is 20 percent in female. There are many studies that has said that passive smoking could lead to problems like ear infections in children, shortness of breath, severe asthma attacks and respiratory infections like bronchitis but they are no conclusive studies. The non filtered smoke could affect nasal cavity, gastrointestinal pipe and other parts. It has immediate harmful effects on non smokers.

According to GATS (2009), 29 percent of male aged between 15- 24 years and 13.5 percent female were exposed to second hand smoking at workplace, while aged between 25- 64, 27.8 percent male and 20.3 female were exposed in India.