Second hand smoke contains more than 4 000 chemicals, including carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, benzene and hydrogen cyanide. More than 50 of these chemicals are carcinogens (they cause cancer). The chemicals also contribute to other diseases, such as asthma, heart disease and emphysema; and that includes non-smokers. Even after a cigarette is out, secondhand smoke remains saturated in the furniture, carpets and blinds, and is still toxic. Over 1 000 non-smokers will die this year in Canada due to tobacco use. More than 300 lung cancer deaths, and at least 700 deaths from coronary heart disease will be caused by second hand smoke . Employees who are regularly exposed to second hand smoke can see their risk of lung cancer increase by 20%. 3 million Canadian workers do not have protection from second hand smoke. Another 8 million only have weak protection. Being exposed to second hand smoke can be higher in concentration in some workplaces than at home. For example, the level of nicotine in the air is about 15 times higher than in a smoker's home. Non-smokers who work in a smoke filled environment breathe in the same toxic chemicals as the people smoking the cigarette . ETS (environmental tobacco smoke) is also responsible for a number of physical effects such as coughing, irritation of the eye, sore chest and difficulty breathing. Workers exposed to secondhand smoke in the workplace are very likely to develop lung cancer. Complaint letters written to head office companies by workers are often related to poor air quality, where even smokers report to be uncomfortable. It is unfair that non-smokers have to deal with ETS while on the job for hours on end each day. A case study reveals how harmful second hand smoke can be for non-smokers in the workplace. A 57-year-old woman named Heather Crowe, never smoked a day in her life. However, she worked in a restaurant with a smoking section. Now Heather has lung cancer.
