Health Effects of Secondhand Smoke

Secondhand smoke is a serious health hazard with more than 19,000 deaths attributed to exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke in the United States every year. It can cause or make worse a wide range of damaging health effects in children and adults, including lung cancer, respiratory infections and asthma.

The American Lung Association has more information available on laws protecting the public from exposure to secondhand smoke.

Key Facts about Secondhand Smoke

• Secondhand smoke exposure occurs when people breathe in smoke that has been breathed out by those who smoke and use other tobacco products.¹  
• There is no save level of exposure to secondhand smoke. Even brief exposure can cause serious health problems ¹ 
• Secondhand smoke can cause coronary heart disease, stroke and lung cancer in adults who do not smoke or use tobacco products. ¹ 
• Secondhand smoke can cause lung cancer in people who have never smoked before. It can also be linked to cancers of the larynx (voice box), nasopharynx (part of the throat behind the nose), nasal sinuses and breast cancer.² 
• Adults who do not smoke or use tobacco products but are exposed to secondhand smoke are at increased risk of getting lung cancer by 20%-30%.³ 
• Secondhand smoke causes more than 7,300 lung cancer deaths each year for adults who do not smoke. ³ 
• Even brief exposure to secondhand smoke can damage the body’s cells in ways that sets lung cancer in motion. ³ 
• The longer the duration and higher the level of exposure to secondhand smoke, the greater the risk of developing lung cancer. ³  
• Secondhand smoke exposure is more than 2 times greater among Black adults compared to white and Mexican Americans. ⁵ 

Secondhand Smoke in the Workplace and at Home

• Most people are exposed to secondhand smoke in their homes or places of work. People can also be exposed in public places such as bars, restaurants or casinos. ¹ 
• The Surgeon General has stated that smoke and tobacco-free policies in the workplace are a key way to prevent exposure to people at work.²  
• The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), federal agencies responsible for health and safety in the workplace, recognize there are no known safe levels of SHS and recommend that exposures be reduced to the lowest possible levels. ² 
• The economic loss of productivity because of exposure to secondhand smoke is an additional $7.2 billion in 2017. ⁴ 
• People are more likely to be exposed to secondhand smoke is they live in multiunit housing that is not smoke or tobacco free. ¹ 
• Making a home smoke and tobacco-free is one of the most important things people can do for themselves, their kids, neighbors and pets. 

Secondhand Smoke and Children

• Secondhand smoke is especially harmful to young children because their bodies are still growing. ¹ 
• Children exposed to secondhand smoke are at an increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), acute respiratory infections, middle ear disease, more frequent and severe asthma, respiratory symptoms and slowed lung growth.¹ 
• Wheezing, coughing and shortness of breath are more common in children who are exposed. ³
• Secondhand smoke can trigger asthma attacks in children and cause them to have more frequent, more severe attacks. ³