Decades ago, before anti-smoking laws became commonplace in offices, restaurants, bars, transit stations, and certain public venues, it probably wouldn’t have been all that surprising to learn that a significant number of Americans are exposed to cigarette smoke at work.
But hearing that news in 2019 is much more striking. Unfortunately, it’s true. A new survey found that over 20 percent of nonsmokers in the U.S. are being exposed to the harmful carcinogens in cigarette smoke on the job.
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The exposure was also higher in certain industries. People who worked in commercial and industrial machinery and equipment repair and maintenance, for instance, were among the most likely to report frequent exposure to secondhand smoke (over 65 percent of nonsmokers in these jobs said they were exposed more than twice per week). People who worked in automotive repair and maintenance, construction, truck transportation, and accommodation were also among the most frequently exposed.
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Does Secondhand Smoke Cause Cancer?
Unfortunately, yes. Inhaling someone else's cigarette smoke can expose people to the same harmful, cancer-causing chemicals (called carcinogens) as smoking a cigarette directly. When someone repeatedly inhales smokeeven when it comes from someone else's cigarettethe smoke causes immediate damage to the cells in the lung tissue. And while the human body is excellent at healing damaged cells, with every cell the body heals, there's a risk that the DNA inside the cell will be healed wrongthat is, with cancerous mutations. According to the CDC, "Even brief secondhand smoke exposure can damage cells in ways that set the cancer process in motion." But just as it is with smoking cigarettes directly, the risk of developing lung cancer from secondhand smoke is higher among people who inhale it day-after-day over an extended period of time.
According to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the U.S. Surgeon General has estimated that, during 2005-2009, secondhand smoke exposure caused more than 7,300 lung cancer deaths among adult nonsmokers each year, and nonsmokers who are exposed to secondhand smoke increase their risk of developing lung cancer by 20 to 30 percent.
For this reason, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. National Toxicology Program, the U.S. Surgeon General, and the International Agency for Research on Cancer have each decided that secondhand smoke is an established carcinogen.
"Workplace secondhand smoke exposure has been recognized as one of the top occupational hazards that contributes substantially to the prevalence of occupational cancer among nonsmokers," the authors of the new survey wrote.
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The survey used self-reported data from the 2015 National Health Interview Survey Occupational Health Supplement. Because the data was self-reported, the researchers did note that the potential for some reporting bias. Regardless, the trend is still striking: nearly one-fifth of Americans who have chosen not to smoke may still be at risk for lung cancer at the fault of others around them.
Although people in certain jobs may not always be able to escape exposure to secondhand smoke in their workplace, the NCI says they can still reduce their lung cancer risk by staying away from smoking environments in off-work hoursthat is, not allowing smoke in their own homes, and seeking out smoke-free restaurants and bars whenever possible. (Importantly, the NCI also notes, using fans and ventilation systems does not eliminate exposure to secondhand smoke.)
And for those who have already been exposed to frequent secondhand smoke, it may be wise to get annual lung cancer screenings.
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