What is the term for secondhand smoke?

What is the term for secondhand smoke?

• A. Tar
• B. Nicotine
• C. Vapor
• D. Environmental tobacco smoke (ETS)

Answer: (D)

Secondhand smoke refers to the smoke that nonsmokers inhale when people nearby are smoking. It comes from both the burning cigarette and the smoker’s exhaled breath, making it a public health concern for bystanders. The formal term for this exposure is environmental tobacco smoke, often shortened to ETS. That label emphasizes that the exposure is related to the surrounding environment created by tobacco use. Tar is the sticky residue in tobacco smoke that coats the lungs, and nicotine is the addictive chemical that keeps people smoking. Vapor is a term more commonly associated with the aerosol from electronic cigarettes. None of these describe the general exposure to others from someone’s smoking the way environmental tobacco smoke does, so the best answer is environmental tobacco smoke.

Secondhand smoke refers to the smoke that nonsmokers inhale when people nearby are smoking. It comes from both the burning cigarette and the smoker’s exhaled breath, making it a public health concern for bystanders. The formal term for this exposure is environmental tobacco smoke, often shortened to ETS. That label emphasizes that the exposure is related to the surrounding environment created by tobacco use.

Tar is the sticky residue in tobacco smoke that coats the lungs, and nicotine is the addictive chemical that keeps people smoking. Vapor is a term more commonly associated with the aerosol from electronic cigarettes. None of these describe the general exposure to others from someone’s smoking the way environmental tobacco smoke does, so the best answer is environmental tobacco smoke.