This year, we want to use the World No Tobacco Day to tell everyone that tobacco kills non-smokers as well. Let us be clear about it. Second-hand smoke also kills. It is well documented through solid science that exposure to second-hand smoke causes cancer and contributes to various lung and heart diseases. It can cause asthma and other respiratory illnesses in children, and has been implicated in various other childhood diseases such as sudden infant death syndrome or middle-ear infections.
Scientists agree that there is no safe level of exposure to second hand smoke.
It should simply be avoided. Neither air conditioning nor separation of smoking areas completely clears the air. The best protection is not to be exposed to second-hand smoke at all, whether inside the home or outside. Reality, however is different. We are all exposed to second-hand smoke nearly everywhere we go.