Second Hand Smoke

Second-hand smoke is the smoke that comes from the end of a burning cigarette, cigar or pipe and the smoke breathed out when a person exhales.

The mixture of harmful gases and particles in second-hand smoke cause many diseases and conditions in healthy non-smokers who are exposed regularly. Second-hand smoke is labelled a "Group A" carcinogen by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) which means it is known to cause cancer. There is no safe level of exposure to it.

Second-Hand Smoke - Health Threat to Non-Smokers

Second-Hand smoke is a serious health threat to healthy non-smokers.

In Waterloo Region, 7% of people who do not smoke are regularly exposed to smoke in their home.

If you are a non-smoker, exposure to second-hand smoke increases your chances of lung cancer by 25%, heart disease by 25%, and cancer of the sinuses, brain, breast, uterine, cervix, thyroid, as well as leukemia and lymphoma.

Exposure to second-hand smoke for as little as 8-20 minutes causes a physical reaction linked to heart disease and stroke. The physical reaction includes:

• Increased heart rate.
• Decreased oxygen supply to the heart.
• Constricted blood vessels; due to this, the heart works harder and the blood pressure increases.

Non-smokers exposed to outdoor second-hand smoke report they suffer immediate effects including breathing difficulties, eye irritation, headache, nausea and asthma attacks.

The health effects on children exposed to second-hand smoke include Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and breathing problems in children as young as 18 months of age.

Children exposed to second-hand smoke in their homes are more likely to suffer breathing problems such as asthma, bronchitis, more frequent colds and ear infections.

Children are also twice as likely to take up smoking if their parents smoke.

For information on making your home and/or car smoke-free, go to Make your home and car smoke free: A guide to protecting your family from second-hand smoke.

Second-Hand Smoke and Multi-Unit Dwellings (MUDs)

More and more Ontarians are living in multi-unit dwellings such as condominium and apartment buildings. Exposure to second-hand smoke in multi-unit dwellings is becoming a bigger issue as more people learn about the dangers of second-hand smoke and begin to take action.

Second-hand smoke can enter into units within a multi-unit dwelling via open windows, balconies, hallways, electrical outlets, cable or phone jacks, ceiling fixtures, plumbing, ventilation systems, doors, floors, walls and ceilings. In addition to second-hand smoke, "third-hand smoke" is formed when the "stale" smoke that lands on indoor surfaces reacts with other pollutants in the air and sunlight to form new chemicals that off-gas from these surfaces.

A multi-unit dwelling is defined as any type of building that contains more than one residential unit and includes:

• Multi-storey Apartment Buildings
• Condominiums
• Townhouses
• Duplexes
• Semi-Detached Houses
• Houses Partitioned Into Apartment Units
• Basement Suites

The amount of indoor poisons from second-hand smoke at any given time depends on a number of things:

• The number of cigarettes smoked.
• How quickly the chemicals from side-stream and mainstream smoke enter the air.
• The volume of air into which the smoke is emitted.
• How quickly the chemicals found in second-hand smoke are removed by ventilation systems.
• How quickly the smoke particles land on surfaces and are absorbed.
• How quickly the smoke particles begin off-gassing from indoor surfaces.

If you are a tenant or a landlord and would like to get more information on what you can do about drifting second-hand smoke in your unit or building, check out the Non Smokers' Right's Association and Smoke-Free Housing Canada.

Smoke-Free Policy in Community Housing:
The Region of Waterloo Experience

On April 1, 2010, Waterloo Region Housing and Region of Waterloo Community Housing Inc. became the first community-housing landlords in Ontario to implement a smoke-free policy on all new leases.

In order to share our experiences with others, we have created this short video that documents how the Region of Waterloo developed the smoke-free policy and what work has been done to evaluate its success.

For more information on the process to create the policy go to Program Training and Consultation Centre.