Secondhand smoke linked to 1.66 million premature deaths worldwide
Secondhand smoke was linked to approximately 1.66 million premature deaths worldwide in 2023. According to an assessment by a study published in The Lancet, more than 2.7 billion people were exposed to other people’s tobacco smoke during the year, including 767 million children aged 0 to 14, France 24 reports.
The study’s authors noted that secondhand smoke is a globally recognized health risk and that there is no safe level of inhaling such smoke. Many people who did not smoke but were exposed to smoke were included in the estimate of about 8 million deaths from smoking-related diseases in 2023.
Study data
The authors analyzed scientific publications from the PubMed database of the U.S. National Institutes of Health and population survey data. They assessed the prevalence of secondhand smoke exposure and its associated disease burden in 204 countries and territories from 1990 to 2023.
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Among the causes of premature mortality and disease associated with such exposure, ischemic heart disease was the leading condition, according to the researchers’ assessment. This is a condition in which the heart muscle does not receive enough oxygen. In children, secondhand smoke caused an estimated 5.2 million respiratory infections in 2023.
Impact of tobacco smoke
People near a smoker inhale both smoke from a smoldering tobacco product and smoke exhaled by the smoker. The study noted that smoke from the burning product, which predominates in the air breathed by non-smokers, does not undergo filtration and contains higher concentrations of toxic and carcinogenic substances per unit.
Despite a substantial global decline in smoking prevalence since 1990, the absolute number of people exposed to secondhand smoke has remained stable because of population growth and increased exposure in Africa and the Middle East. The researchers called on governments to strengthen tobacco control in public places and homes to better protect women and children.
