Uploaded July 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently released a factsheet about the health risks of secondhand smoke and aerosols. This video shares that information.
Smoking tobacco and marijuana - and vaping with e-cigarettes and other devices - can release harmful chemicals into the air. People around the smoker or vaper are also exposed to these chemicals and this known as secondhand exposure.
Avoiding smoking and vaping inside or near homes, buildings, vehicles, and other enclosed spaces can stop secondhand exposure and the health risks that may come with it.
Secondhand Tobacco Smoke
• Secondhand tobacco smoke contains more than 7,000 chemicals. It can cause lung cancer, heart disease, and stroke.
• Secondhand tobacco smoke exposure can result in early deaths among nonsmokers.
• Secondhand tobacco smoke can cause health problems in infants and children. Problems include sudden infant death syndrome and respiratory and ear infections. Secondhand smoke can also cause more frequent and severe asthma attacks in children with asthma.
• There is no safe level of secondhand tobacco smoke exposure.
Secondhand Marijuana Smoke
• Secondhand marijuana smoke is a mixture of the smoke from a burning marijuana product and the smoke a smoker breathes out.
• Secondhand marijuana smoke can expose bystanders to potentially harmful chemicals.
• Secondhand marijuana smoke has many of the same toxic and cancer-causing chemicals as tobacco smoke, some of them in higher amounts.
Secondhand E-Cigarette (Vape) Aerosol
• E-cigarettes and other electronic smoking products heat a liquid that makes an aerosol. The liquid usually has nicotine, flavorings, and other chemicals. The aerosol is a mix of tiny particles and/or droplets in the air.
• Some of the harmful substances emitted in secondhand e-cigarette aerosols are the same as those emitted in secondhand tobacco smoke.
• Aerosols from electronic smoking products can have possibly harmful chemicals, including nicotine, formaldehyde, and metals - some of which cause cancer and other harmful health effects.
These are just a few of the many things to know about health risks of secondhand smoke and aerosols. To learn more about this or other air quality, building science, industrial hygiene, environmental, health or safety issues, please visit the websites shown below.
Clark Seif Clark csceng.com
EMSL Analytical, Inc. emsl.com
LA Testing latesting.com
Zimmetry Environmental zimmetry.com
Healthy Indoors Magazine healthyindoors.com
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently released a factsheet about the health risks of secondhand smoke and aerosols. This video shares that information.
Smoking tobacco and marijuana - and vaping with e-cigarettes and other devices - can release harmful chemicals into the air. People around the smoker or vaper are also exposed to these chemicals and this known as secondhand exposure.
Avoiding smoking and vaping inside or near homes, buildings, vehicles, and other enclosed spaces can stop secondhand exposure and the health risks that may come with it.
Secondhand Tobacco Smoke
• Secondhand tobacco smoke contains more than 7,000 chemicals. It can cause lung cancer, heart disease, and stroke.
• Secondhand tobacco smoke exposure can result in early deaths among nonsmokers.
• Secondhand tobacco smoke can cause health problems in infants and children. Problems include sudden infant death syndrome and respiratory and ear infections. Secondhand smoke can also cause more frequent and severe asthma attacks in children with asthma.
• There is no safe level of secondhand tobacco smoke exposure.
Secondhand Marijuana Smoke
• Secondhand marijuana smoke is a mixture of the smoke from a burning marijuana product and the smoke a smoker breathes out.
• Secondhand marijuana smoke can expose bystanders to potentially harmful chemicals.
• Secondhand marijuana smoke has many of the same toxic and cancer-causing chemicals as tobacco smoke, some of them in higher amounts.
Secondhand E-Cigarette (Vape) Aerosol
• E-cigarettes and other electronic smoking products heat a liquid that makes an aerosol. The liquid usually has nicotine, flavorings, and other chemicals. The aerosol is a mix of tiny particles and/or droplets in the air.
• Some of the harmful substances emitted in secondhand e-cigarette aerosols are the same as those emitted in secondhand tobacco smoke.
• Aerosols from electronic smoking products can have possibly harmful chemicals, including nicotine, formaldehyde, and metals - some of which cause cancer and other harmful health effects.
These are just a few of the many things to know about health risks of secondhand smoke and aerosols. To learn more about this or other air quality, building science, industrial hygiene, environmental, health or safety issues, please visit the websites shown below.
Clark Seif Clark csceng.com
EMSL Analytical, Inc. emsl.com
LA Testing latesting.com
Zimmetry Environmental zimmetry.com
Healthy Indoors Magazine healthyindoors.com




![Secondhand Marijuana Smoke Exposure Risks
Secondhand tobacco smoke exposure has long been recognized as a health concern for nonsmokers. With the increasing number of states that now allow medical marijuana and recreational marijuana use, secondhand cannabis smoke, more commonly referred to as marijuana smoke, has also become a concern for many.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):
Smoked marijuana has many of the same cancer-causing substances as smoked tobacco, but there are still a lot of unanswered questions around secondhand marijuana smoke exposure and its impact on chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer and lung diseases.
Secondhand marijuana smoke does contains tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the chemical responsible for most of marijuana’s psychological effects. The smoke is also a complex mixture of many other chemicals and particulate matter (PM). Exposure to PM can cause lung irritation, may trigger an asthma attack in some people with the condition, and can be a concern for people who have COPD or other lung diseases.
The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment lists marijuana smoke as a carcinogen and reproductive toxin on its Proposition 65 list. Some of the substances found in marijuana smoke listed by OEHHA include 1,3-butadiene, arsenic, benzene, benzo[a]pyrene, cadmium, carbon monoxide, hexavalent chromium, hydrogen cyanide, formaldehyde, lead, mercury, nickel and toluene.
Some people also have concerns about whether they would fail a drug test or could become impaired from being around secondhand marijuana smoke. Factors such as ventilation rates, proximity to the smoke, and how long someone is inhaling the secondhand smoke are all issues to consider.
These are just a few of the many things to know about secondhand marijuana smoke exposure risks. To learn more about this or other indoor air quality, building science, environmental, occupational, health or safety issues, please visit the websites shown below.
Clark Seif Clark https://www.csceng.com
EMSL Analytical, Inc. https://www.emsl.com
LA Testing https://www.latesting.com
Zimmetry Environmental https://www.zimmetry.com
Healthy Indoors Magazine https://www.healthyindoors.com Secondhand Marijuana Smoke Exposure Risks](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Yld5gP8Hz2M/mqdefault.jpg)





