Results of the study were impressive and imposing. The Osaka City University doctors showed that just 30 minutes of exposure to secondhand smoke immediately compromises the cardiovascular system of non-smokers in ways that are indistinguishable from smokers. The specific mechanism affected is what s known as endothelial function in the coronary arteries. When working properly, endothelial cells prevent the arteries from narrowing or constricting. They police the arteries, in part by releasing nitric oxide.
Passive smoke disrupts the protective process of endothelial cells.
In an editorial accompanying the study, Glantz wrote that the findings are important not only because they illustrate the importance of preventing non-smokers from any exposure to secondhand smoke but also because they help explain the relatively large risk of death and other cardiac events associated with passive smoking compared to active smoking. Glantz said that most people think of cancer when they think about passive smoking. That is going to change in the next two to three years, he estimated. During the next few years we will learn much more about how passive smoke can harm the cardiovascular system in minutes rather than decades. This study showed the cardiovascular systems of healthy young people can be severely compromised in a short time, said Glantz, who has done numerous animal studies on how passive smoke affects the endothelial cells.