Smokers Smoke Even More With Their Own Second-Hand Smoke

consume an extra 2.6 cigarettes because of their own secondhand smoke

Research done in Italy shows that smokers are not only at risk from the cigarettes that they smoke themselves but also from the secondhand smoke of smokers around them. The research team led by Professoressa Maria Teresa Piccardo devised clever models to see how much extra smoke was observed by smokers in a second hand manner.

With the cooperation of fifteen smoking newsagents who work alone in tiny covered newsstands they were able to examine how much extra smoke they absorbed due to their own habit. The team of researchers from the National cancer Research Institute in Italy chose newsagents because they said the amount of smoke in the air that they breathe is directly linked to the amount of cigarettes smoked by that particular newsagent and not to any other smoker.

The researchers said that their results showed that somebody who smoked fourteen cigarettes daily would consume an extra 2.6 cigarettes because of their own secondhand smoke. This statistic is important because it also shows that if you work in an enclosed space with a heavy smoker you could yourself the consuming the equivalent of a few cigarettes every day.

It is well known that secondhand smoking is dangerous and can cause lung cancer and a whole list of other respiratory illnesses and this study shows the extent of the danger. Ukmedix News has published research previously which shows that even a few cigarettes a day significantly increase the chances of you suffering from smoking related illnesses. If you work in an environment which does not prohibit smoking, (all offices in the UK should by law) you should be well aware of this research and take steps to deal with it. If you can’t get your way and people still smoke around you should go and get another job!

This research was published in full in the journal Environmental Health.