When you stop smoking, you protect your family’s health as well as your own.
When you smoke, it’s not just your health that is at risk. You only inhale about 15% of the smoke from a cigarette. The other 85% goes into the air around you where other people can inhale it. This is called secondhand smoke.
Secondhand smoke includes the smoke you breathe out and the smoke from the lit end of the cigarette.
The smoke contains over 7,000 chemicals, including:
- arsenic and cyanide - these are both poisons
- benzene - a chemical that can cause leukaemia
Cancer risks from secondhand smoke
Secondhand smoke contains carcinogens. These are chemicals that cause cancer.
People who breathe in secondhand smoke have a higher risk of smoking-related diseases. For example, their risk of lung cancer increases by 20% to 30%.
Opening a window when you smoke does not make a difference. More than 80% of smoke is invisible. You cannot control where the smoke goes.
The risk of secondhand smoke to children
Children are more at risk from secondhand smoke because:
- they breathe faster
- their lungs, airways and immune system are still developing
Secondhand smoke can increase the risk of:
- ear infections
- asthma
- allergies
- meningitis
- cancer
- bronchitis
- pneumonia
- sudden infant death syndrome (cot death) in babies
Children who grow up seeing their parents smoke are 3 times more likely to smoke as adults.
Stop smoking to protect your family
You can quit and we can help. Get free support from the quit programme. Create a quit plan to help you stop smoking.