When we think about poor air quality, many of us imagine a bulging city belt-way or a polluted factory. Similarly, when we think about a toxic environment full of poisonous chemicals, many of us may imagine a waste-dump or a processing plant.

What most of us don't imagine when we think of poor air quality is our own home or business. Sadly, the quality of the air right inside your own home or office may be more of a threat to your health and well-being than you are aware of. The cause of many of our modern-day maladies can be triggered by toxic pollutants carried on the very indoor oxygen that we breathe throughout most of our day, and most of our lives.

Whether inside your home, your car or in a shopping center, sealed buildings and vehicles do not allow for circulation of air. In this sense, toxic air, such as the air that comes from second-hand and side stream smoking, becomes stagnant in our living spaces.

Most people know that smoke from tobacco is a very dangerous pollutant. It is a widely known fact that its smoke contributes to lung cancer, emphysema, heart disease and a whole host of problematic illnesses. Health Canada reports that not only does tobacco smoke contain toxic emissions such as carbon monoxide, sulfur, nicotine and tar. It also has more than 3,950 other lethal gases and toxins. This chemical cocktail of lethal compounds causes the oxygen levels in your blood stream to drastically lower, prohibiting the normal functioning of your organs, tissues and cells.

After reading this, it is easy to see that environmental tobacco smoke is highly problematic. The public, as of late, has been keen on reducing the amount of cigarette smoke in our atmosphere. Scientists have presented numerous studies highlighting the deleterious effects of smoking, and yet tobacco still remains one of the most common environmental pollutants that our planet suffers from today.

The Surgeon General estimates that almost 50% of nonsmoking people in the U.S. are continually breathing in the secondhand and side-stream tobacco smoke of primary smokers. The Environmental Protection Agency has concluded that over half of all American homes can be considered a health hazard, partially due to environmental tobacco smoke, as well as other chemical pollutants.

You can protect the health of your family and yourself by implementing a "no-tobacco" policy in your own home, and encouraging others to do the same.

Dangers of Tobacco Smoke to Our Health

Gone are the days where movie stars and cool cowboys lit up cigarettes without any concern for their health, or the health of others who breathe their smoke. Today, most of us are aware that smoking is harmful to our body, immune system and respiratory system. But do we know just how deadly second-hand smoke can be?

Following are some startling statistics on the effects of second-hand tobacco smoke as a pollutant to our environment. In a report from the Surgeon General in 2006, it was found that:

• Second-hand and side-stream tobacco smoke can have a measurably negative effect on the health of individuals inhaling them.
• Breathing in second-hand or side-stream smoke (even if you are not a smoker) can increase your likelihood of heart disease, lung cancer and other illnesses by as much as 30 percent.
• Occurrence of second-hand and side-stream smoke has been correlated to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), respiratory difficulty, advanced infections and asthma in babies and children. It has also been cited as a major cause for 150,000 - 300,000 incidences of bronchitis and pneumonia in children younger than 20 months of age.³
• Second-hand and side-stream smoke can cause cancer, even in individuals who have never directly smoked in their lives.
• Over half of all reported disease are caused by or are worsened by toxic indoor air, including tobacco pollutants.4
• The air in sealed buildings (homes, businesses, cars) may be 10 times more toxic than the air outside.5

Side-stream Smoke Versus Second-hand Smoke

Side-stream smoke differs from second-hand smoke, and is more common and more harmful. Second-hand smoke is released from the exhale of the person smoking. Side-stream smoke is the single most dangerous form of smoke because it is released directly into the atmosphere from the burning paper and tobacco. This is the type of smoke that enters the air from a lit cigarette or pipe before the person inhales and exhales it.6

Side-stream smoke has actually been proven to be more toxic than what is being inhaled or exhaled by the smoker. Numerous scientific studies have reported that side-stream smoke has more disease-causing chemicals and harmful compounds than any other type of smoke. For this reason, it is even more crucial that our indoor air is purified. Sadly, side-stream smoke makes up most of the environmental tobacco smoke that pollutes our air.

Stop Smoking Now!

Truly, the only way to permanently rid your home and airspace of these toxic chemical compounds is to stop smoking now. Quitting smoking will help promote a healthy future for you and your family. Although the process of ridding your body and home of toxins may take some time and effort, it certainly can be done with a little willpower and patience. Reward yourself for your hard work if you have managed to quit smoking. You are helping create a non-toxic planet!

If you need help quitting I recommend contacting Kimberly Anderson a hypnotherapist. Her contact info is:

Kimberley Anderson RN, CHt — Phone: 303-547-5872

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