Passive smoking
Passive smoking means inhaling cigar or cigarette smoke from an active smoker. This scenario occurs when there is individual smoking near non-smokers, and it exposers the non-smokers to risks similar to active smokers. When a smoker exhales tobacco, this is called mainstream smoke. While the cigarette is burning, the smoke from it is called sidestream smoke, and it has the same effects as mainstream smoke because of the tobacco. These two types of smoke combine to form passive second-hand smoking, which is the main form of passive smoking. There are several health effects caused by passive smoking, and they mostly affect children and pregnant women. Men that are passive smokers are not immune to the impact, but their health reactions and complications are not as immediate as present in pregnant women and children. Among the health complications that manifest in children that are exposed to passive smoking include pneumonia, bronchitis, bronchiolitis, and an array of other respiratory diseases. Continuous exposure causes children’s lungs to fail and mature slowly, and this factor eventually leads to breathing complications as they grow older. Coughs, middle ear infections, and middle ear infections are among other complications that manifest, and even in the constant treatment, they recur. The risk of contracting meningococcal disease also increases with continuous passive smoking among children. Among pregnant women, the effects of passive smoking manifest in both the woman and the unborn child. Some of the complications that the woman may get include miscarriage, premature birth, stillbirth, sudden infant death syndrome, and complications during delivery. Children born in a smoking environment experience low birth weights, and their immune systems weaken as they grow older, thus increasing their mortality rate.
Many states and localities have formulated numerous laws and policies to ensure that the health of non-smokers is guaranteed even as they interact in the same environment with active smokers. Among the areas that active smokers are not allowed to smoke openly include open public parks, school compounds, skating parks, public swimming pools, closed bus and train stations, public hospitals, outdoor dining areas, places that process food, schools, sporting venues, public beaches and events that host underage kids. There are numerous punishments for the offense, and they vary according to localities or states. The end goal is to lower the number of people that get complications from passive smoking and teach proper smoking habits among the public. Smoke-free zones are always marked, and every smoker is expected to smoke within restricted outdoor zones if they are not in their own homes.