To inhale or not to inhale

Anahita Sattari

Among the things I have noticed during my stay in Italy, like how the people emit an air of elegance and grace, is how it almost always seems to be in the midst of a puff of smoke that encircles the crowd. Smoking seems to be a fashion trend that never goes out of style. It’s as if the cigarette in the hand is an accessory much like the high heels and designer sunglasses everyone is adorned with. Smoking doesn’t discriminate in Italy. The adolescent, elderly, female, and male populations smoke alike. What’s more, the effects of smoking are not specific to smokers as non-smokers are exposed to 250 harmful chemicals, 69 of which cause cancer according to the National Cancer Institute.  Secondhand smoke is composed of smoke given off by a tobacco product and the smoke exhaled from a smoker. It is almost impossible to avoid any exposure to secondhand smoke when roaming the Vias in Italia.  This is a problem as lung cancer is a result of inhaling secondhand smoke.  

The negative health effects that cigarette smoke yields do not deter smokers from inhaling. So it seems unlikely that they will quit, even when inhaling is at the expense of another’s, aka a non-smoker, health.

Studies to determine to the extent of the effects of smoking on smokers and non-smokers are being continued.

It was found that a polymer is capable yielding superoxide from the reduction of molecular oxygen, which will ultimately convert into hydrogen peroxide and hydroxyl radicals. There are radicals in the tar and gas phase of cigarette smoke. The latter phase consists of oxygen- and carbon-centered radicals which are more reactive than those of the tar-phase. The radicals in the gas phase are produced from the oxidation of NO to NO₂.  

The following are some of the toxic chemicals that are present in secondhand smoke: ammonia, butane, carbon monoxide, chromium, cyanide, formaldehyde, lead, and polonium. It seems unfair that we, the nonsmokers, are put at risk because of the nicotine addictions of the smokers. Furthermore, there is no safe level of secondhand smoke, so any exposure is damaging. It seems that Italy should follow countries like France, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, and Uruguay, which require places of work including restaurants and bars to be smoke-free.