Apraissing Second Hand Smoking From a Health Standpoint

CCNY

                                                                                                                             Aiyanna Nicholson 

    Professor Matias 

  ENGL 21003 

 1 April 2022

Tobacco is widely known to induce heavy forms of addiction and is very infamous for the harmful carcinogens it contains. An important fact that’s interlaced with consuming this plant is that even if you’re not directly smoking Tobacco, you could be doing it involuntarily by inhaling residual nicotine from essentially any environment you’re in and this can be labeled as Secondhand smoking.  At first thought, this form of smoking may appear not as destructive to your health as physically smoking a cigarette is but, the reality is that it reaps the same consequences. Secondhand smoking acts as a silent killer and the media mostly shines light on the harmful effects of Tobacco use without really presenting the issue of how the choices of others are negatively impacting an innumerable amount of people. How far of a reach does second hand smoking have on other people and how does its effects translate onto different individuals from a health perspective?

The Crosswires of Mother, Child and Nicotine

Second Hand smoking is proven to be harmful to pregnant women as well as the fetus that they are carrying. In “Second hand smoking and tobacco use among pregnant women in Yatinuwara Medical Officer of Health (MOH) area in Sri Lanka.”, the author Ann Shanali Perera conducted research that found a plethora of health implications in babies that can be directly attributed to secondhand smoking. In listing some ; Deep vein thrombosis, ectopic pregnancies and placenta previa are just a few of the health issues that are accompanied with second hand smoking (Perera 2). In support of Perera, Mohammed El Sharkawy , the author of “Change in exposure of children to second- hand smoke with impact on children’s health and change in parental smoking habits after smoking ban in Bavaria – a multiple cross-sectional study.” reinforces those facts by presenting his own that explain how newborns being underweight as well as suffering from asthma at such an early stage in life are additional consequences of secondhand smoking (Sharkawy 2).  Just as both authors had similar thoughts surrounding the relationship between pregnancy and secondhand smoking, the way that they collected data from their studies can be easily coupled together. Sociodemographic statistics plays a huge role in both researchers’ studies and both authors even collected similar data that has the potential to enhance the other’s study and overall argument. To elaborate, Perera had sociodemographic data relating to age, education and ethnicity of pregnant women who might have been exposed to secondhand smoking. Similarly, Sharkawy had supporting data that reported the employment status and education of those exposed to secondhand smoking. Both collections of data could correlate with one another by comparing the different demographics and seeing if there is any homogeneity in the level of education for example of pregnant women who were exposed to secondhand smoke within either sets of data. This same correlation would serve as proof for how secondhand smoking can tend to cluster within certain groups of people which in turn leaves room for higher levels of interpretation when assessing how this form of smoking both reaches and affects different individuals to varying extents. 

When reviewing Perera’s article, there are some contrasting themes, she seems to centralize a lot around if these women who were exposed to secondhand smoke were aware that they were and this is where the two sources begin to skew. The differences can be spotted in the questionnaire that was produced for Perera’s study to find out more about mothers Tobacco use and awareness of secondhand smoke along with other personal questions. When examining Sharkawy’s article, he places the focal point of his study on the level of exposure to secondhand smoking among children and pregnant women. This focus can be seen in the data he collected that had information on whether or not parents smoked at home or if mothers smoked while pregnant . Looking at both sides of each data, it’s clear how the researchers curated their statistics towards the main idea of their study and this is also where both articles seem to further repudiate one another.  At the end of Perera’s article a conclusion was drawn up on how the appearance of second hand smoking among pregnant women was very extensive(Perera 4). On another hand Sharkaway’s findings concluded that second hand smoking among children was slowly but surely declining (Sharkaway, 8). Even after acknowledging the different results, there are still several parallels throughout each study that leaves no room for questions when determining how detrimental second hand smoking is to women who are pregnant. 

The Interplay between Mental illness and Secondhand Smoking

Mental health issues within adolescents and younger children can be attributed to secondhand smoking. Vincent Chin-Hung Chen both scientist and author of “Suicide and Other-Cause Mortality after Early Exposure to Smoking and Second Hand Smoking: A 12-Year Population-Based Follow- Up Study.”, acknowledged how prevalent smoking is among young adults and then dove into how exposure to secondhand smoke is linked to both depression and anxiety. Ivy Shiue, another researcher and author of “Correlations of indoor second-hand smoking, household smoking rules, regional deprivation and children mental health: Scottish Health Survey, 2013.” complicates what Chen stated in his article by mentioning that “disruptive behavior disorders” as well as changes in “cognitive performance” within children could be traced back to second hand smoking that occurs at home. While Chen provides a table with data containing information on the cause of death when being exposed to secondhand smoke, Shiue presents data on different mental health issues found within children in relation to household smoking (Chen, et al. 7, Shiue 5). In this instance, both sets of data are able to support one another because they are relaying statistics that provide evidence for how second hand smoking has psychological repercussions. The subjects of both researchers’ studies also fall into the same age range which is an important aspect to consider because it draws both articles closer together and opens up room for stronger levels of comparison. 

Although Chen mentions other mental health problems that are associated with second hand smoking, his approach is more geared towards how suicide is attached to that form of smoking. Looking at Shiue’s article, she has more range in terms of divulging multiple mental health issues that can be connected with secondhand smoke exposure. After taking into account the focus of Chen’s study, it’s very clear that his article and research as a whole is more compelling. To elaborate, Chen’s article offers more specified analyses of suicide cases in relation to secondhand smoke and these analyses are where his article undermines Shiue’s when evaluating the complexities of both. Regarding the results of each study, both article’s findings prove that secondhand smoke has adverse effects on both young adults and children’s mental health. These conclusions compliment and tie each other together because both reached a similar consensus of how corrupting secondhand smoking really is. 

Cancer the Deadly Killer, Now Revitalized Through Secondhand Smoking

Cancer is the disease that is most known to be affiliated with secondhand smoking. The consequences that accompany smoking do not discriminate when someone is exposed to secondhand smoke which means that developing cancer is a big risk. Additionally, having trouble breathing and forming any type of lung issues is no surprise when you are inhaling nicotine. According to Athanasios G. Pallis, an oncology student at Athens school of medicine, there are multiple studies that thoroughly suggest a link between lung cancer and secondhand smoking. In her study, there was data from other countries that claimed that thousands of lung cancer deaths could be related back to secondhand smoke exposure (Pallis, et al. 3). Giulia Carreras, researcher and author of “Burden of disease from breast cancer attributable to smoking and second-hand smoke exposure in Europe.”asserted a similar finding in her study but it pertained to how second hand smoke increased the risk of breast cancer in women (Carreras, et al. 1). This combined evidence from both articles create a foundation of support for how secondhand smoking leads to different forms of cancer. 

While Carrera presents multiple tables of data and statistics on breast cancer related deaths due to secondhand smoking, Pallias lacks providing visual data to support her study. Ignoring this fault, Pallis redeems herself by including more scientific information around genes and DNA that help build up her research on how secondhand smoking encourages the risk of lung cancer. An example of this is when she displays evidence that suggests mutation with the EGFR gene in individuals who have never smoked before (Pallias, et al.  5). Although both researchers’ methods of displaying data vary, Pallis’s method is stronger because she digs into both biological and genome processes that continuously substantiate her argument. In all, these differences between both articles draw them together because they provide different perspectives that all aim at proving similar things in terms of cancer and secondhand smoking. Upon Reaching the end of each study, there was little revelation in the fact that comparable conclusions were reached that stated how second hand smoke exposure can be accredited to increase risks of lung and breast cancer.

Ultimately, all sources studies created pathways that lead to the same conclusion which stated how negative secondhand smoking is when looking through a health lens. Sharkawy and Perera focused on how secondhand smoking had dire consequences to those that didn’t even get to begin their life while my two of my other sources with Chen and Shiue found that the implications of secondhand smoking also catered towards younger kids and adolescents from a cognitive level. An important aspect of all these sources were the methodologies that they used and across the board, many incorporated tables with statistics that were usually geared towards the frequency of secondhand smoking among the subjects of these studies. Perera is a great example of a researcher who gathered this type of data multiple times throughout her article. On another hand, while some authors relied on visuals, others, or more specifically Pallis only echoed what other researchers did when handling how she presented data but for the most part leaned towards providing scientific facts when evaluating her thesis. Even when all six sources were gathering information on different groups of people and how it affected those prospective groups, the all encompassing theme was that secondhand smoking should not be taken lightly. After reviewing all of these sources as a whole, I was able to see that they are all fruitful studies in answer to the question of how secondhand smoking impacts different individuals’ health. Finally, an important question to keep in mind is, could there be any additional underlying issues in both a physical and psychological sense as a result of secondhand smoking and how are these issues seen in other places of varying socioeconomic standings around the world?

Works Cited

Carreras, Giulia, et al. “Burden of Disease from Breast Cancer Attributable to Smoking and Second‐hand Smoke Exposure in Europe.” International Journal of Cancer, vol. 147, no. 9.  2020, pp. 2387–93, John Wiley & Sons. 10.1002/ijc.33021.

Chen, Vincent Chin-Hung, et al. “Suicide and Other-Cause Mortality after Early Exposure to Smoking and Second Hand Smoking: a 12-Year Population-Based Follow-up Study.” PloS One, vol. 10, no. 7. 2015, p. e0130044–, Public Library of Science. 10.1371/journal.pone.0130044.

El Sharkawy, Mohammed, et al. “Change in Exposure of Children to Second-Hand Smoke with Impact on Children’s Health and Change in Parental Smoking Habits after Smoking Ban in Bavaria – a Multiple Cross-Sectional Study.” BMC Public Health, vol. 21, no. 1. 2021, pp. 2134–2134, BioMed Central Ltd. 10.1186/s12889-021-12130-8.

Pallis, Athanasios G., and Konstantinos N. Syrigos. “Lung Cancer in Never Smokers: Disease Characteristics and Risk Factors.” Critical Reviews in Oncology/hematology, vol. 88, no. 3. 2013, pp. 494–503, Elsevier Ireland Ltd. 10.1016/j.critrevonc.2013.06.011.

Perera, Ann Shanali, et al. “Second Hand Smoking and Tobacco Use Among Pregnant Women in Yatinuwara Medical Officer of Health (MOH) Area in Sri Lanka.” Journal of Oral Biology and Craniofacial Research (Amsterdam), vol. 11, no. 3. 2021, pp. 442–46, Elsevier B.V. 10.1016/j.jobcr.2021.05.001.Shiue, Ivy. “Correlations of Indoor Second-Hand Smoking, Household Smoking Rules, Regional Deprivation and Children Mental Health: Scottish Health Survey, 2013.” Environmental Science and Pollution Research International, vol. 22, no. 13. 2015, pp. 9858–63, Springer Berlin Heidelberg. 10.1007/s11356-015-4160-0.