Why is secondhand smoke harmful?

I think it's harmful because people can catch it.....

Let's straiten this out. Second hand smoke is only harmful to people who for a lifetime are stuck in a home with a smoker. You getting a whiff of somebody else's smoke from the sidewalk is not going to kill you. Exhaust from all the cars we drive and radon and CO2 will kill you way before cigarette smoke will.

It contains many cancer-causing chemicals. People breathe in those chemicals, and it causes cancer. And it also causes your hair and clothes to smell bad and your nose to itch.

because the smoke was filtered throgh a set of lungs and all the nasty part of the smoke was exhailed ao the second hand smoke is all the worst parts of the smoke. which makes it really bad.

A better question would be why is second hand smoke inhalation bad for you.

Being exposed to smoke is second hand smokeing. As you most likely know. It goes in the same way a regualr smokers smoke goes in so its just like smoking a cigerett just not as harmful and it takes more time.

does someone really have to answer that question for you. DDDUUUHHH!

Technically yes, but as the guy above pointed out, unless you're breathing it in all the time, then it's not going to be something you need worry about.

There's a lot of very dubious science quoted, mis-quoted and re-quoted about the dangers of second hand smoke.

Frankly I'm more worried about the dangers to my health if I tell some ****** off in a bar for smoking in my face. Nothing more annoying than people smoking when I'm trying to eat.

Thanks for asking this one. It's something I need to know because I take in a lot of second hand smoke. I was just about to ask this, too...heehe, thanks for doing it for me!!

It is harmful, it is even more harmful than smoking, because it lacks the normal filters of a cigarette. You cannot "catch it," however. It contains all the chemicals of a cigarette.

Well you know how if you were the person smoking you inhale all the nicotine and tobacco? Well you're doing the same thing in secondhand smoke, your just not putting it in your mouth. I just sagest stay away from people who do.

Jimbo is a smoker who's trying to justify his habit. True, it is worse if you are stuck in a room/house with a smoker. But anytime you go into a bar/restaurant/any area that allows smoking you will be forced to inhale second-hand smoke. Tell me how often you are in a bar with car that's engine is running? People would freak out pretty quick. So lets not compare the two.

Any kind of smoke is harmful. Whether its from a bonfire, a car's exhaust, or a cigarette. We don't allow running cars or bonfires indoors, so why do we allow smoking?

You're basically just breathing in the same stuff from the cigarette just after someone else has had the first hit...

http://www.herbs2stopsmoking.com/health/...
http://www.philipmorrisusa.com/en/health...
http://www.tobaccofreeutah.org/ets.html#...

Evey time a person breaths in secondhand smoke they consume over 100 harmful chemical agents. Both carcinogens (known to cause cancer in humans) and toxins.

Yes. More so than smoking it yourself. When YOU smoke, you breath it OUT, when your there NOT smoking, you breath it IN.