Secon Hand Smoking - Research Paper Example

1). Due to the dangers of being exposed to secondhand smoke, one agrues that secondhand smoke should be banned in all public places through ordinances and stricter governmental policies. Statistics Some of the most alarming information gathered on SHS, as revealed by the World Health Organization (WHO) are as follows: that (1) “SHS causes 600 000 premature deaths per year. There are more than 4000 chemicals in tobacco smoke, of which at least 250 are known to be harmful and more than 50 are known to cause cancer” (WHO: Fact 3, n.d., p. 1); (2) “more than 94% of people are unprotected by smoke-free laws.

However, in 2008 the number of people protected from second-hand smoke by such laws increased by 74% to 362 million from 208 million in 2007. Of the 100 most populous cities, 22 are smoke-free” (WHO: Fact 9, n.d., p. 1). These figures prove that government health agencies have acknowledged the detrimental effects to health of SHS and are designing and implementing various monitoring measures to validate, confirm, and address the dilemma. The segment of the population who were identified to be most at risk are children who were noted to eventually develop different health dilemmas, ranging from pneumonia, bronchitis, asthma, and even ear infections (CDC, 2012).

For adults who were persistently exposed to SHS, studies have revealed preponderance to lung cancer and heart ailments (CDC, 2012). The study published by the CDC, entitled “Vital Signs: Nonsmokers' Exposure to Secondhand Smoke --- United States, 1999—2008” confirmed the followign statistics related to SHS, to wit: “An estimated 88 million nonsmokers in the United States were exposed to secondhand smoke in 2007–2008. Children are at particular risk for exposure to secondhand smoke: 53.

6% of young children (aged 3–11 years) were exposed to secondhand smoke in 2007–2008. While only 5.4% of adult nonsmokers in the United States lived with someone who smoked inside their home, 18.2% of children (aged 3–11 years) lived with someone who smoked inside their home in 2007–2008” (CDC, 2010, p. 1). These varied statistical information affirm that SHS is clearly linked to illnesses, both for children and adults, alike. Likewise, since the figures and trends continue to alarm health authorities, there seems to be a crucial need to re-assess current health ordinances to at least minimize the risks of contracting the identified illnesses.

Effects of SHS The effects of SHS on health of children and adults, alike, have been confirmed from various studies for being exposed in SHS (CDC, 2012). The most pronounced health dilemma of SHS is the increased risks to contract various forms of cancer, such as lung cancer, and “childhood leukemia and cancers of the larynx (voice box), pharynx (throat), brain, bladder, rectum, stomach, and breast” (ACS: Why is SHS a problem, 2013, par. 3), making SHS a health concern of government health agencies.

The exacerbating factor is that since children and adults who were exposed to SHS could not control the source of the problem, preventing and minimizing its debiliating impact proved to be extremely challenging. More pronounced focus and strategical efforts exerted by government health agencies to address SHS means more time, money and resources being expended