Like bad news, cigarette smoke travels fast and far. You may have never lit up a day in your life, but don't forget -- you share the air with people who literally make a habit of it.

When you step outside for a breath of fresh air but wind up with a lungful of secondhand smoke instead, guess what: You are officially an "accidental smoker." Your hands may be clean, but your lungs are not, and as with all exposure to tobacco smoke, there are risks to your health.

The size of your secondhand habit depends on the company you keep and the action their ashtrays get. But even if you only run into smokers at the occasional party or night out on the town, it is important to remember that when it comes to cigarette smoke, every little bit hurts.

The US Surgeon General's Office made that point clear last year with the release of a major report detailing the dangers of involuntary exposure to tobacco smoke.

That report stated starkly that there is no "safe" level of exposure to tobacco smoke, secondhand or otherwise. To the contrary, the report listed secondhand smoke as an unequivocal cause of heart disease and lung cancer; of premature death and disease in children and in adults who do not smoke; and of increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), acute respiratory infections, ear problems, and severe asthma in children.

At the same time, data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that secondhand smoke, in the US alone, is responsible each year for around 35,000 heart disease-related deaths in nonsmokers who live with smokers and for around 3,000 lung cancer deaths in nonsmoking adults.

With there being no safe level of secondhand smoke, the American Cancer Society strongly supports the need for enactment by local, state, and federal authorities of public policies to protect people from secondhand smoke and protect children from tobacco-caused diseases and addiction.

Across the country, many local and state governments protect the health of employees and others in public places, and many have passed clean indoor air laws in recent years. While the laws vary from place to place, they are becoming more common.

Detailed information on smoking restrictions in each state is available through the American Lung Association. To learn how you can become involved in reducing exposure to secondhand smoke in your community, contact your American Cancer Society at 1-800-ACS-2345 (1-800-227-2345).

Published 11/1/2007