What Are The Causes, Risk Factors, And Complications Of Emphysema?

Secondhand Smoke Exposure

Secondhand smoke exposure has been proven to be an increased risk factor for the development of emphysema in a non-smoking individual. Secondhand smoke is the term used to describe the combination of smoke exhaled by smokers and the burning end of a tobacco cigarette, pipe, or other tobacco apparatus. Over seven thousand chemicals are present in secondhand smoke, and over 250 of them are proven to cause illness. Some of these toxins include nicotine, benzene, arsenic ammonia, formaldehyde, vinyl chloride, and hydrogen cyanide.

Secondhand smoke is especially dangerous and harmful when it is present in a motor vehicle, home, or other poorly ventilated structures. Even when an individual is finished smoking, the toxic chemicals stay in the air and can be inhaled for an average of four hours. Non-smokers who inhale secondhand smoke fumes are putting poisonous and harmful chemicals like nicotine into their lungs the same way smokers do. Individuals who do not smoke but reside with an individual who does have shown to have the air pockets in their lungs that develop into emphysema.

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