How bad is second hand smoke? (pregnancy, infections, blood, smoking)

[RunD1987]

What if someone was exposed to second hand smoke for 6500 days of their life inside a house? Are they basically screwed?

[Ottawa2011]

Lungs are quite resilient if the exposure to smoke stops.

[imagineAA]

CDC.gov has a list of how long it takes for smokers to reverse damage after they quit. That should give you a good idea.

[wit-nit]

Long term exposure to 2nd hand smoke: There is no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke. There is no long term 100% recovery from lung cell damage.
•Secondhand smoke causes numerous health problems in infants and children, including more frequent and severe asthma attacks, respiratory infections, ear infections, and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).1,4
•Smoking during pregnancy results in more than 1,000 infant deaths annually.4
•Some of the health conditions caused by secondhand smoke in adults include coronary heart disease, stroke, and lung cancer.1,4
The current US Surgeon General’s Report concludes that there is no established risk-free level of exposure to second-hand smoke. Short exposures to second-hand smoke are believed to cause blood platelets to become stickier, damage the lining of blood vessels, decrease coronary flow velocity reserves, and reduce heart rate variability, potentially increasing the risk of heart attack. New research indicates that private research conducted by cigarette company Philip Morris in the 1980s showed that second-hand smoke was toxic, yet the company suppressed the finding during the next two decades.[

[jaminhealth]

Originally Posted by imagineAA

CDC.gov has a list of how long it takes for smokers to reverse damage after they quit. That should give you a good idea.

Many smokers NEVER reverse the damage, even though my sil had quit for 18 yrs he ended up with LC and died at 55.

I can't imagine living in 2nd hand smoke can be of any benefit.

[Zelva]

You may be toast!

[riblue]

Originally Posted by imagineAA

CDC.gov has a list of how long it takes for smokers to reverse damage after they quit. That should give you a good idea.

I smoked for 22 years and quit 17 years ago. At that time, I read that after 15 years your lungs will reverse the damage and it will be like you never smoked.

[wit-nit]

Originally Posted by riblue

I smoked for 22 years and quit 17 years ago. At that time, I read that after 15 years your lungs will reverse the damage and it will be like you never smoked.

You read wrong. Those cells that are dead will remain dead.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by RunD1987

What if someone was exposed to second hand smoke for 6500 days of their life inside a house? Are they basically screwed?

nobody really has an answer to this: many people have lived with smokers and never had lung problems. I think the main concern is just how annoying the smell can be. I doubt anyone would argue about how bad smoking is for ones health, but I also think many studies done are geared to prove what the study group wants to prove. How many people do any of us know that have developed lung cancer or heart problems when under 60 because they lived with a smoker and that was the only exposure they had plus there was no family history of problems. I am almost 80 and I don't know of a sole that falls into that category. I do think being around smokers is annoying. And yes, I am an X smoker. Thank God I can say: X

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by imagineAA

CDC.gov has a list of how long it takes for smokers to reverse damage after they quit. That should give you a good idea.

that is not the same as living in a house with a smoker; not anywhere near the same. Plus CDC isn't all it is cracked up to be.

Now I am seeing some of you claim there will always be damage, others say 15 years to reverse and in the late 80s CDC was saying 7 years. Like anything else, no one can say for sure what damage and how long it takes to overturn the damage.