Secondhand Smoking And Its Effects On The Environment

I have very distinct memories of returning home from spending time with my dad and reeking of cigarette smoke. The stench would set into my hair and clothes and would be a chore to get rid of. Not only do cigarettes inconvenience smokers and those around them, but they’re also very deadly killers. According to an analysis by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2011, close to half of a million people die from cigarette-related illnesses every year. “In addition, smoking has been estimated to cost the United States $96 billion in direct medical expenses and $97 billion in lost productivity annually.” Smoking can affect the world around us just as much as smokers’ personal lives and bodies. Lung cancer is just one of many illnesses …show more content…
When I say environment, I mean the personal environment of the smoker and his/her family as well as the natural environment of the world around them. Most people who have lived with a smoker attest to the stench that sets into your clothing, hair, and pretty much anything you own. Not only does the smoke set into everything, but secondhand smoke can greatly affect the health of people who don’t even smoke. Secondhand smoke often carries a lot of the same risk factors that come with direct smoking. A lot of people may think that smoking in open or semi-open areas eliminates the risk of contributing to secondhand smoking, but that’s actually proven to not be entirely true. The University of Barcelona did a study in 2013 on secondhand smoke and how, even in open space, there are still carcinogens in the air that can negatively affect non-smokers. There were even carcinogens found in smoke-free areas that were positioned near smoking areas. To move on to the ecological effect of smoking, it can be tied in with secondhand smoke. It’s apparent that cigarette smoke can drift into other areas and transfer chemicals into the air supply, so it shouldn’t be hard to see how it could contribute to air pollution on a global level. Also, discarded cigarette butts pose a major problem for animals and even small children. In a peer review journal called Tobacco Control (2011), the toxicity problem with cigarette butts is discussed in depth. “Nicotine found in cigarette butts may cause vomiting and neurological toxicity; leachates of cigarette butts in aquatic environments may cause exposure to additional toxic chemicals including heavy metals, ethyl phenol and pesticide residues.” When it comes to the health and safety of infants, it’s apparent that it’s an important issue. However, with animals such as birds and fish, it may not be as apparent. With a fairly basic understanding of the food-chain