• Second-hand smoke is

the leading environmental cause of preventable death in NZ. Around 350 New Zealanders are killed by others people’s tobacco smoke each year.
• Second-hand smoke has been shown to cause:
o coronary heart-disease
o lung cancer
o acute stroke
o eye and nasal irritation
o nasal sinus cancer.

• Twenty-five percent of the population suffers from asthma, heart disease, emphysema, cystic fibrosis and other medical conditions that are exacerbated by second-hand smoke.

• The effects on children of exposure to second-hand smoke include:
o greater chances of hospital care in their first year
o more susceptibility to coughs, cold and wheezes
o increased chances of becoming smokers themselves
o greater risks of glue ear, chest infections, meningococcal disease and SIDS.

• M?ori children have greater exposure to second-hand smoke than non-M?ori children.

• Adults who have never smoked and who live with smokers have a 15 percent higher risk of death than those living in a smokefree household.12 This study strengthens the case for a causal association between second-hand smoke and mortality, and adds weight to the evidence of harm caused by passive smoking. It also supports steps to reduce exposure to other people's smoke - in the home and in other settings.