second hand smoke is tobacco smoke exhaled by a smoker and involuntarily breathed in by another person. here are some 2nd hand smoke facts according to the national cancer society: •at least 69 chemicals produced by 2nd hand smoke are known to cause cancer. •2nd hand smoke does cause cancer in nonsmokers. •2nd hand smoke has also been associated with heart disease in adults and ear infections asthma sudden death syndrome in children. •2nd hand smoke has no safe exposure level. i am not an expert on building structures or their air circulation systems and do not have technical details of your building's air circulation system. with that said i'll provide my understanding of the air quality in many office buildings occupied today and referred to as "sick buildings". these buildings may have poor air exchange systems filtering systems that are inadequate in size not adequately cleaned or otherwise properly maintained. my own anecdotal accounting is that many of these types of building almost never receive fresh air as windows are only for the aesthetic purpose of providing natural light. the windows are sometimes permanently fixed shut. in effect the building occupants may be continually breathing the same polluted air. irritations of the eyes ears and throats are frequent complaints of these building occupants due in part to chemical and environmental containments from indoor and outdoor sources. in summary: •2nd hand smoke is dangerous. it can cause cancer and other chronic health problems. •many office buildings today circulate unhealthy air. • my conclusion is that your health problems at least in part may be due to the effects of 2nd hand smoke being breathed in while working in your office building.
does secondhand smoke go through a machine that makes oxygen off room air? is it dangerous to people with copd? . i have emphysema and quit smoking 6+ years ago when diagnosed. i was able to get off oxygen after leaving the hospital and manage to work. three years ago i have moved to a building where the person on the other side of the wall is a heavy smoker. since then i have become dependent on an oxygen machine. could this second hand smoke be the cause of my decline over the past three years and does it get sucked through the oxygen machine?