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Brief Secondhand Smoke Exposure Can Cause Atherosclerosis (Narrowing of the Arteries) and Heart Disease These claims are inaccurate because it takes many years of exposure to secondhand smoke to develop heart disease. You cannot get hardening of the arteries from a brief tobacco smoke exposure. American Cancer Society: "Immediate effects of secondhand smoke include cardiovascular problems such as damage to cell
walls in the circulatory system, thickening of the blood and arteries, and arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) or
heart disease, increasing the chance of heart attack or stroke." United States Surgeon General: "Even brief exposure to secondhand smoke has immediate adverse effects on the cardiovascular
system and increases risk for heart disease and lung cancer, the report says." Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights: "Even a half hour of secondhand smoke exposure causes heart damage similar to that of habitual
smokers." Association of Nonsmokers - Minnesota: "Research studies have shown that even just thirty seconds of exposure to secondhand smoke can
make coronary artery function of non-smokers indistinguishable from smokers." Campaign for a Healthy and Responsible Tennessee: "The Journal of the American Medical Association reports that just 30 minutes of exposure to
secondhand smoke changes blood chemistry and increases the risk of heart disease in non-smokers."
Audubon Area Community Services, Inc.: "As little as 30 minutes of secondhand smoke can lead to hardening of the arteries in nonsmokers,
Japanese researchers reported at an American Heart Association (AHA) meeting in November." Central Iowa Tobacco-Free Partnership: "Nonsmokers exposed to secondhand smoke for just 30 minutes experience hardening of the arteries." American Heart Association: "30 minutes exposure = stiffened, clogged arteries. ... All of these effects not only increase
the long term risks of developing heart disease, but also increase the immediate risk of heart attack." Action on Smoking and Health: "Even for people without such respiratory conditions, breathing drifting tobacco smoke for even
brief periods can be deadly. For example, the Centers for Disease Controls [CDC] has warned that breathing drifting tobacco
smoke for as little as 30 minutes (less than the time one might be exposed outdoors on a beach, sitting on a park bench, listening
to a concert in a park, etc.) can raise a nonsmoker'’s risk of suffering a fatal heart attack to that of a smoker. Smoke Free Gwinnett: "Nonsmokers exposed to secondhand smoke for just 30 minutes experience hardening of the arteries." New Jersey GASP: "Healthy nonsmokers who enter a smoke-filled room show almost immediate changes in their blood,
changes that can result in heart disease and stroke." Canadian Lung Association: "Just 30 minutes' exposure to second-hand smoke hardens your arteries." Health 24: "Only 30 minutes of exposure to second-hand smoke can damage a non-smoker's heart and increases
the risk of heart disease by 30%." Tobacco Free Coalitions of Clark County and Skamania County: "As little as 30 minutes of secondhand smoke can lead to hardening of the arteries in nonsmokers." Coalition for a Tobacco-Free Hawaii: "Thirty minutes of secondhand smoke compromises a non-smoker'’s coronary arteries to
the same extent as in smokers. ... All of these effects not only increase the long term risks of developing heart disease,
but also increase the immediate risk of heart attack." DuPage County Health Department: "30 minutes exposure = stiffened, clogged arteries" TobaccoScam: "30 minutes exposure = stiffened, clogged arteries" New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene: "Just 30 minutes of exposure to second-hand smoke produces some of the same physical reactions
that would occur from long-term smoking, and increases the risk of heart disease in non-smokers." Clean Air for Everyone (C.A.F.E.) Iowa: "Nonsmokers exposed to secondhand smoke for just 30 minutes experience hardening of the arteries." Washington State Department of Health: "Only 30 minutes of secondhand smoke exposure may cause heart damage similar to that of regular
smokers. This exposure can reduce the ability of the arteries close to the heart to expand, which reduces the ability of the
heart to receive life-giving blood." Smoke Free Catawba: "30 Minutes of Exposure = Stiffened, Clogged Arteries" University of North Carolina School of Medicine Department of Family Medicine: "30 minutes of exposure = stiffened, clogged arteries" Iowa Department of Public Health: "30 minutes of secondhand smoke exposure results in stiffened, clogged arteries" Tobacco Free Washington: "30 minutes exposure = stiffened, clogged arteries" TobaccoScam: "30 minutes exposure = smoker's arteries"
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Brief Secondhand Smoke Exposure Reduces Coronary Blood Flow These claims are inaccurate because it has been shown that brief tobacco smoke exposure affects only coronary flow velocity reserve - a measure of the coronary arteries' ability to dilate under experimental conditions - and not baseline coronary blood flow. The blood flow to the heart is not reduced in a healthy person exposed briefly to secondhand smoke. Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights: "Even a half hour of secondhand smoke exposure causes heart damage similar to that of habitual
smokers. Nonsmokers' heart arteries showed a reduced ability to dilate, diminishing the ability of the heart to get life-giving
blood." American Cancer Society and Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids: "Short-term exposure to tobacco smoke has a measurable effect on the heart in nonsmokers. Just 30 minutes of exposure is enough to reduce blood flow to the heart." State Tobacco Education & Prevention Partnership (Colorado): "Just thirty minutes of exposure to secondhand smoke can compromise the cardiovascular system of nonsmokers by reducing blood flow to the heart." Asthma Initiative of Michigan: "...in as little as 30 minutes of exposure to secondhand smoke, the nonsmokers’ blood flow
dropped to the same level as people who had smoked a pack of cigarettes." American Heart Association, Heritage Affiliate: "Even 30 minutes of exposure to secondhand smoke reduces blood circulation and increases your risk for a heart attack." Oregon Department of Human Services: "Experts have found that just 30 minutes of secondhand smoke exposure can impair blood flow to and from the heart in non-smokers." American Lung Association of Metropolitan Chicago: "People who spend just 30 minutes in a smoke-filled room have a measurable decrease in oxygen delivered to their heart." Share Air: "Just 30 minutes' exposure to secondhand smoke can constrict arteries and damage the body's ability to supply blood to the heart." Illinois Coalition Against Tobacco: "Even as little as 30 minutes of exposure to secondhand smoke has a negative effect on arteries and oxygen's flow to the heart is decreased." Smokefree Mecklenberg: "Only 30 minutes of secondhand smoke exposure can cause narrowing of blood vessels, restricting the flow of blood and contributing to hardening of the arteries." Pueblo City-County Health Department: "Breathing secondhand smoke for just a few minutes increases arterial stiffness, promotes the tendency of blot to clot, reduces blood flow to the heart, and makes arteries more prone to damage." Oregon Department of Health Services: "Experts have found that just 30 minutes of secondhand smoke exposure can impair blood flow to and from the heart in non-smokers." Texas Department of State Health Services: "Just 30 minutes'’ exposure to secondhand smoke can constrict arteries and damage the
body'’s ability to supply blood to the heart."
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Miscellaneous: Everything from Nicotine Exposure in Nonsmokers Being Greater than in Smokers to Secondhand Smoke Containing Plutonium These claims are inaccurate for reasons that should be obvious to informed readers. Nicotine exposure is much higher among active smokers than nonsmokers. Secondhand smoke does not contain plutonium. Thirty seconds of secondhand smoke exposure cannot possibly impair coronary artery function as much as in an active smoker. Brief exposure to secondhand smoke cannot cause heart damage equivalent to that from active smoking. Smoking does not cause 340 deaths among young people every day. Massachusetts Department of Public Health: "Non-smokers, especially children, who are exposed to secondhand smoke can inhale up to seven times the amount of nicotine inhaled by a smoker." St. Louis University Tobacco Prevention Center: "Arsenic, benzene, carbon monoxide, Plutonium 210 and a host of other poisons are in secondhand
smoke." Association of Nonsmokers - Minnesota: "Research studies have shown that even just thirty seconds of exposure to secondhand smoke can make coronary artery function of non-smokers indistinguishable from smokers." Smoke Free Galveston: "Even half an hour of secondhand smoke exposure causes heart damage similar to that of habitual smokers." Kids Involuntarily Inhaling Secondhand Smoke: "Even half an hour of secondhand smoke exposure causes heart damage similar to that of habitual
smokers." Laredo Health Department: "After 120 minutes of breathing secondhand smoke, the risk of an irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia) that can itself be fatal or trigger a heart attack increases." Breathe California of Sacramento-Emigrant Trails: "Smoking Kills About 340 Young People A Day" |
