Smoking is an addictive habit followed by millions of people around the world. The people in the developed countries are less attached to smoking than the people of the developing countries. Statistics have also shown that the percentage of active and passive smokers is high in developing countries. Tobacco smoke contains thousands of chemicals including at least 70 carcinogens which are capable of producing cancer. Some of the chemicals found in cigarette smoke include nicotine, lead, arsenic, formaldehyde, ammonia, radioactive elements like uranium, benzene etc. Most of the carcinogens are coming from tobacco leaves and not from additives contained in the cigarettes or other tobacco products.

Active smoking

Active smokers use cigarette, cigar or bidis as a habit and smoke them continuously changing cigarette after cigarette. Negative effects of active smoking include formation of cancer in lungs, throat and different organs of the body. The affected organs include lungs, liver, esophagus, cervix, kidney, bladder, throat, bone marrow etc. Various complications during pregnancy, damages to respiratory and cardiovascular systems etc are also caused as a result of regular cigarette smoking.

Passive smoking

Inhaling the smoke by any person who stands near to a smoker is known as passive smoking. Smoking resulted from environmental tobacco is also considered as passive smoking. The person who is subjected to passive smoking inhales nicotine, toxins  and carcinogens  and may experience sore eyes, sore throat, headache, sneezing, nausea, irritation etc. Passive smokers are not getting addicted to smoking, but they are prone to all the effects of active smoking. They are also prone to the diseases that are mentioned in the case of active smokers, but to a lesser rate or with a slower speed. It is very sinful to cause the old parents getting affected by irresponsible smoking of the youngsters.

There are evidences to show that passive smokers are prone to breast cancer in women around the age of 50 years. As passive smoking has been proved beyond doubt to cause serious health problems, World health organization has taken bold steps to declare smoking in public place as criminal offense. Statistics show that about 25-30 % of the passive smokers develop heart diseases and about 20-25 % of them develop lung cancer and other cancers.

So the impacts caused on the society by passive smoking has to be considered as a  serious matter and wide publicity and public awareness has to be created and life of innocent people have to be saved at any cost.

Most of the carcinogens are coming from tobacco leaves and not from additives contained in the cigarettes or other tobacco products.