Second-hand smoke ‘kills 6,000 Thais each year’
About 6,000 Thais die from the effects of second-hand smoke every year, the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) said on Tuesday.
The NESDC revealed the figure to mark No Smoking Day, which falls on May 31.
The NESDC said a survey by the United Nations, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Public Health Ministry last year found that about 6,000 Thais were killed each year by breathing in other people’s tobacco smoke.
It also pointed out that 23.7 per cent of smokers in Thailand light up at home, potentially exposing other family members to their smoke. Of these household smokers, 67.53 per cent smoke in their homes every day, said the NESDC, citing figures from the National Statistical Office of Thailand.
This year, the WHO is campaigning on No Smoking Day with the slogan “Tobacco: A threat to our environment”.
Second-hand cigarette smoke contains over 4,000 toxins that are hazardous to family members and society, the world health agency pointed out. About 50 of these toxins can cause cancer.
The WHO said second-hand smoke kills about 1.2 million people worldwide each year, including some 65,000 children.
Meanwhile, third-hand smoke – or residue from cigarette smoke on hair, clothes, air-conditioners’ ventilators, and furniture – is also hazardous to health. The residue can linger for up to six months, the WHO added.