Air date: April 27, 2008

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Say you work at a bar or restaurant where smoking is allowed. You don't smoke, but you're around smoke all the time. Are you in danger?

"It really is a health hazard; it's a class A carcinogen, and it really is a killer."

That’s Nasser Hanna, MD, associate professor of medicine at Indiana University.

Hanna is an expert on lung cancer and he told me that even if you don’t smoke, breathing other people’s smoke is basically just as bad. It's estimated that up to 50,000 people every year die from lung cancer and other disease caused by second-hand smoke.

Now, not everyone who works or lives in a smoky environment gets cancer. It’s partly a matter of luck.

Hanna says, "Someone repetitively exposed to carcinogens may have series of mutations in genes that may not lead to cancer, whereas somebody else may get mutations in other genes more important in regulating cell growth."

And those unlucky souls may get cancer. Some people are genetically more prone to being harmed by second hand smoke. Others are more resistant.

But bottom line: second hand smoke is bad news. The good news is that we’re more aware of this than we used to be. Lots of airports, hospitals, restaurants, even entire towns and cities, are smoke free. So we’ve come a long way.

But lots of people still smoke. And for non-smokers whose work or living situation forces them to breath other people’s smoke, it’s still a big problem.

"For the real risk in terms of developing cancer," Hanna emphasizes, "the real risk lies behind the workers who are chronically exposed to smoke hour after hour, day after day."

I’m Jeremy Shere

This Sound Medicine Checkup is underwritten by IUPUI, where impact is made on our students, our community, our health and our economy. More information at www.iupui.edu.

Additional Resources:

• Learn more about second-hand smoke and lung cancer at the American Lung Association.

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