Secondhand smoke or passive smoking is when the person sitting near the
smoker inhales the smoke. Secondhand smoking can affect the smoker himself as
well as the people around him. It is widely known that secondhand smoking is
not without risks; cigarette smoke can affect those who inhale it from the
environment with nearly as much destructive effects to their health as does the
smoke to the smoker him- or herself.
In a recent study by Iversen and colleagues published in the European
Journal of Epidemiology the effect of smoking and secondhand smoking on
myocardial infarction (heart attack) was investigated in a cohort study in
Norway. In that study the risk incidence of myocardial infarction was increased
in smokers and secondhand smokers, both males and females. The effect of
secondhand smoking in males in this Norwegian study could be explained
according to the researchers by the subject’s own smoking. In females, however,
the effect was consistent even for those who never smoked but had lived with
smokers, especially for over 30 years after the age of 20. Another important
find in this study is that the risk of myocardial infarction in both smokers
and secondhand smokers was higher in females than males, the exact cause behind
this observation is not known yet but it could be females are more sensitive to
smoke or smoking (active or passive) can interact with other physiological or
hormonal processes in the women’s body.
The paper by Iversen and colleague is an interesting read, and it carry
the message that smoking is not only bad for the smoker but for those who are
nearby as well. Smokers should think about other people around them as well as
about themselves and reconsider is all the risk they expose themselves, family
and friends to worth it?
Reference:
Iversen B, Jacobsen BK, Løchen ML. 2013. Active and
passive smoking and the risk of myocardial infarction in 24,968 men and women
during 11 year of follow-up: the Tromsø Study. Eur J Epidemiol: DOI
10.1007/s10654-013-9785-z
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