Secondhand smoke contributed to 1.7 million deaths in 2023

More than 2.7 billion people were exposed to secondhand smoke worldwide in 2023, and the exposure contributed to nearly 1.7 million deaths, according to a study published in the medical journal The Lancet.

The researchers used population surveys and scientific papers from the U.S. PubMed database to estimate secondhand smoke exposure across 204 countries and territories. Children accounted for 767 million of those exposed.

Heart disease caused by insufficient oxygen reaching the heart muscle was the largest cause of death and illness among people exposed to secondhand smoke, the researchers said. People near smokers inhale two forms of pollution: sidestream smoke from tobacco products and smoke exhaled by smokers.

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Exposure to secondhand smoke is a globally recognised health risk, and there is no safe level of how much one can tolerate inhaling

The researchers said sidestream smoke makes up most of the air inhaled by non-smokers, is unfiltered and contains higher concentrations of toxic and cancer-causing substances than the smoke smokers inhale themselves.

Although the global share of people who smoke has fallen substantially since 1990, the number exposed to secondhand smoke has remained stable, partly because of population growth. Women are particularly exposed, the researchers said, and they urged governments to introduce stricter smoking rules in public places and homes to protect women and children.

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Sidestream smoke, which makes up most of the air non-smokers inhale, is unfiltered. It contains higher concentrations of toxic and cancer-causing substances