Respiratory health consequences of environmental tobacco smoke.

Over the last several decades there has been a growing interest in examining the health consequences of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS). As a result of a wide body of research, ETS is now considered an unacceptable and entirely preventable public health hazard, and public policy increasingly discourages the presence of tobacco smoke in the public domain. This article provides an overview of the composition of ETS and the major diseases and disorders strongly linked to ETS, emphasizing the effects of ETS on pulmonary function, asthma, and lung cancer.