Secondhand smoke is also referred to as environmental smoke. A person is exposed to secondhand smoke when she breathes in the smoke given off at the burning end of a cigarette and the smoke exhaled by a smoker. Someone who breathes secondhand smoke is said to be passively or involuntarily smoking.

More than 4,000 chemicals have been identified in secondhand smoke. At least 50 of these chemicals are known to cause cancer, including arsenic, benzene, cadmium, chromium, nickel, and vinyl chloride.

Secondhand smoke can cause many of the same health problems as the direct use of nicotine. It is particularly dangerous for children, whose lungs may not be fully developed. Children exposed to secondhand smoke are at increased risk for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), ear infections, colds, pneumonia, bronchitis, asthma, coughs, wheezing, breathlessness, and retarded growth of the lungs. Thus far, research has found no safe levels of secondhand smoke — even the lowest doses of exposure can be harmful.

Steps are being taken to protect the air for nonsmokers on local, state, and federal levels. In many locations around the country, public workplaces, restaurants, bars, and meeting places are now declared nonsmoking areas. Nationally, smoking is prohibited on domestic airline flights, most international airline flights, interstate buses, and most trains.

Unfortunately, the response from tobacco companies has been to focus their advertising campaigns more on smokeless tobacco products. They present smokeless tobacco products as attractive alternatives for nicotine-addicted individuals to use in places where smoking is no longer allowed.