The Culprit: Second Hand Smoke? Please answer, afraid for friend?

Question

Hi,

I'll get to the chase. My friend started hanging out at bars about a year and a half ago. Since then he's been going frequently and has had three coughing episodes that have lasted for weeks. It gets so bad, he can barely breath sometimes.

His last coughing fit started a little over a month ago and is still going on. He went to the doctors, who told him he has an upper respitory infection and gave him meds, but he's still couging up storms.

This kid is generally a healthy person who doesn't smoke or drink at all. Since so many bars are polluted with second hand smoke, is that what is probably causing him to cough so bad? He doesn't believe me that second hand smoke is bad for his body. I'm afraid for him. Could somebody tell me the adverse affects of long term exposure to second hand smoke and point me to some startling material that I could use to convince him? I really care about my friend and am afraid for him. Any help is appreciated.

Thanks in advance

Jeeby

Answer 1

The EPA has done study upon study on second hand smoke and the only thing they can definitely say is that it makes your hair and clothes smell bad. The fact is: ciggarette smoke is a carcinogen which falls under the "one hit theory". That means one exposure can lead to cancer, or a billion exposures lead to cancer. It effects everyone differently. You hear about 90 year smokers living til 110, or someone dying from lung cancer at the age of 30 who has never had a smoke. Second hand smoke is awful, because it makes people smell bad and just isn't fun to be around, but it has not proven to be harmful.

Answer 2

Hi Jeeby... is your friend still coughing? Usually second hand smoke is much dangerous to our health than those who are smokers itself. Why not try using a eucalyptus essential oil using a catalytic diffuser. If you are familiar with a Lampe Berger product, well there is no harm trying especially now that your friend is really in a serious condition.

My nephew is an asthmatic child. We are quite worried because everytime his asthma attacks, we need to run him to the hospital and would take 1-2 weeks before he'll recover. One of my friend from Singapore offered me this product, well of course, at first I am hesitant to buy it coz the price is a bit expensive. But if you really care and love your family member, you will try and do everything just to make him feel better in his health problems. Amazingly, after using for several days, we noticed that his asthma never attack until now. I shared it with my friends and colleagues, and they even tried it to their nieces, nephews, kids and even for themselves...its effective.

I am sharing this personal experience of mine, maybe in some ways, it can also help your friend alleviate coughing. Just try it.

Answer 3

smoke dries out the upper respiratory tract, so yeah, it sounds like he's having respiratory infection due to the second-hand smoke. stop going to bars that permit smoking. there are plenty of bars/clubs where there's no smoke allowed and that don't have those smoke machines (those are really gross).

have him drink lots of water. he may be allergic to the smoke and it could be that he's having asthma exacerbation from the smoke as well. either way, stay away from taht stuff. and as for long-term exposure, there's no diff between second hand smoke and smoking directly. in fact, i read some where that second hand smoke is even worse because the primary smoke has the filter. second hand smoke is unfiltered.

Answer 4

if you dont want to be around smoke dont go in a bar. i hate it when people act like the smokers are killing them in a bar when a bar is a dirty frickin place anyway and your sitting there pickiling you liver with alcohol and saying the smoke is killing you. quit bein such a pussy and wake the **** up man. besides that an upper respritory infection could be caused by weather change and germs spreading. mabey your friend was in one of those bars and didnt wash his hands after toutching one of those oh so clean bathroom door knobs and wiped his nose or his mouth after. an upper respritory infection is a cold and you do not catch a cold from second hand smoke. nice try though.

Answer 5

what microorganism caused the infection, did the doctor say? he could have picked up some thing from the bar besides second hand smoke. Bars are not immaculately clean and he might have picked up some thing from their glasses, their water, their food or from other customers and so on. furthermore, going to bars and staying up late is not healthy too, and that could have lowered his immune resistance and caused him to get infected.

Answer 6

It may be a host of factors. Has he been exposed to smoke at a young age, it this a premature sign of borderline asthma (I know a smoking asthma sufferer) or is this a simple healthy unexposed lung reacting the way any other would? Don't fret it and let his Chest grow accustomed.

Answer 7

i would think that ethier he has some weird virus, or yes, it is second hand smoking. in some studies, second hand smoke has been proven to be very unhealth, but not as bad as smoking itself because many of the chenicals are filtered through the person, so the smoke they breath out ist as toxic. my friend that smokes has attacks wich are very alike to the ones you emplain. she coughs constantly. it is really digusting. smoking is a horrible habbit. i'd tell your friend that he needs to lay of the bars for a bit.
good luck, its nice of you to care :)

Answer 8

24% of the people with lung cancer never smoked
The smoke from 1 cig on a non-smoker is = to smoking 10 cigs

A hospital trip with Shortness of Breath 'might' sink in...


http://www.lungusa.org/site/pp.asp?c=dvLUK9O0E&b=35427

http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/types/lung

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lung_cancer

http://www.4woman.gov/faq/lung.htm

Answer 9

no