Secondhand Smoke Facts
- Secondhand smoke is a serious health hazard causing close to 50,000 deaths per year. (1)
- Since 1964, 2.5 million nonsmokers have died from exposure to secondhand smoke. (11)
- There is no risk-free level of secondhand smoke exposure; even brief exposure can be harmful to health. (11)
- A burning cigarette produces more than 4,000 chemicals, 69 are known to cause cancer. (2)
- Every household pays an extra $597 in federal taxes because of governmental spending on secondhand smoke related illnesses (e.g., medicaid). (3)
- Tobacco kills more people in Michigan than AIDS, alcohol, auto accidents, cocaine, heroin, murders, and suicides- COMBINED! (4)
- Annual health care expenses just from secondhand smoke exposure is more than $6 billion. (5)
- According to California Air Resources Board Study secondhand smoke in a vehicle can be up to 27 times more concentrated than in a smoker’s home. By the time it takes to smoke half of a cigarette the air quality in a parked car can reach up to 10 times the hazardous level on the EPA’s Air Quality Index. Whether the car is moving or parked, the windows opened or cracked, the air quality level remains in the hazardous zone, with smoke often pooling in the back seat. (6)
- Separating smokers from nonsmokers within the same air space, cleaning the air, opening windows, and ventilating buildings does not eliminate secondhand smoke exposure.(11)
- A University of Michigan study shows that 82% of American adults support banning smoking in cars when children younger than 13 years old are present; 60% of current adult smokers and 84% of former adult smokers also support it. (7) (page 4)
- Daily, 39.6% of kids are exposed to secondhand smoke (ages 4-17). (8)
- Children inhaling air in a smoke filled room for one hour is equivalent to them actively smoking 10 cigarettes. (9)
- Secondhand smoke is a large factor with SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome). SIDS is the leading cause of death among infants and takes the lives of about 2,500 babies each year in the United States. (10)
- Exposure to secondhand smoke in the United States has caused 1 million children to be afflicted with asthma. (12)
- Six states, including Oregon, Utah, Arkansas, Louisiana, California, and Maine, have already passed this law.