Passive Smoking is more Hazardous as You Think

A study in China has found that breathing second-hand tobacco smoke significantly increases the risk of women developing peripheral artery disease (PAD), heart disease and stroke. Unlike previous studies which showed that there are strong links between passive smoking and heart disease, the recent studies found that second-hand smoking can develop peripheral artery disease too.

PAD is a circulatory problem in which narrowed arteries reduce blood flow to the limbs, causing pain and increasing the risk of suffering a heart attack or stroke. After a full investigation researchers found 431 prevalent cases of coronary heart disease, 172 cases of stroke and 271 cases of PAD during the course of the study and the findings showed consistently that the passive smokers were at far higher risk. Frank Hu, professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, said: "We found that passive smoking increases risk of heart disease, stroke, and peripheral artery disease. Exposure to passive smoking increased heart disease by 69 percent, stroke by 56 percent and peripheral artery disease risk by 67 percent."

Researchers defined passive smoking as exposure to another person's tobacco smoke for at least 15 minutes daily for more than one day every week, for at least two years during the past 10 years. They added that the longer the duration of the exposure per day to passive smoking, the higher is the risk of PAD. "In China and other Asian countries, most men smoke, but few women smoke. However, most women are exposed to passive or second-hand smoking either at home or at work," Mr. Hu added.

Unfortunately most people are not aware of the health dangers of passive smoking that’s why they continue to stay near smokers without feeling that his or her health is in danger.