Some residents have voiced concerns about secondhand smoke to the management of Kukui Plaza. As a community of thoughtful citizens, we are asking all smokers to please consider the following health threats to your neighbors if your smoke goes out your window and into another’s.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines and describes secondhand smoke in the following way:
“ Secondhand smoke is a complex mixture of gases and particles that includes smoke from a burning cigarette, cigar or pipe tip (sidestream smoke) and exhaled mainstream smoke. Secondhand smoke contains at least 250 chemicals known to be toxic, including more than 50 that cause cancer.”
For smokers, the choice to risk the consequences of smoking is yours to make. However, when your secondhand smoke enters the homes of your neighbors, you are subjecting them to toxins and health risks without their consent. Secondhand smoke can be measured and found in nonsmokers, the CDC states:
“Exposure to nicotine and secondhand smoke is measured by testing the saliva, urine, or blood for the presence of a chemical called cotinine. Cotinine is a byproduct of nicotine metabolization, and tobacco is the only source of this markers.”
A 2006 Report of the United States Surgeon General concluded:
· Children exposed to secondhand smoke are at an increased risk for sudden infant death syndrome, acute respiratory infections, ear problems, and more severe asthma.
· Exposure of adults to secondhand smoke has immediate adverse effects on the cardiovascular system and causes coronary heart disease and lung cancer.
· Scientific evidence indicates that there is no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke.
The harmful affects of secondhand smoke are real. In Hawaii, legislation has already been passed to decrease the affects of secondhand smoke in public places. In other areas of the United States, lawsuits have been filed and won by residents affected by a neighbor’s secondhand smoke.
The majority of our residents would not even consider parking in someone else’s stall, much less causing harm to a neighbor’s health. With the same respect and consideration, please think about what the smoke from your tobacco products could do to the health of those around you.
Information taken from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Web site and The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke: A Report of the Surgeon General, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The CDC fact sheet can be found at: http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/Factsheets/SecondhandSmoke.htm.
The Surgeon General’s Report is available at: http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/secondhandsmoke/factsheet6.html