Secondhand smoke is the smoke produced during the smoking process, which contains a large number of harmful substances and carcinogens. Inhaling secondhand smoke, even if a person does not smoke, can increase the risk of developing many diseases caused by smoking.
Inhalation of secondhand smoke can lead to lung cancer, coronary heart disease, smoke odor aversion, nasal irritation, breast cancer, sinus cancer, decreased lung function, bronchial asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, stroke and atherosclerosis.
Inhalation of secondhand smoke by pregnant women can lead to preterm labor, neural tube malformations in newborns, cleft lip and palate, sudden infant death syndrome, and lowered infant weight.
In children, exposure to secondhand smoke can lead to respiratory infections, decreased lung function, asthma, acute otitis media, recurrent otitis media, and chronic middle ear effusion, and exposure to secondhand smoke is one of the triggers of childhood cancer.