[Health damage by means of forced smoking].

Forced smoking (= passive smoking) is not only a molestation but a real health risk for nonsmokers. The reasons for this are given in detail by a survey of results of the world literature. The main reasons are: In tobacco smoke are more than 40 cancerogenic substances which show a clear summative effect in contrast to other poisons. Avoidable cancerogens therefore must be eliminated from our environment wherever it is possible. There is no reason to make an exception with tobacco smoke. Special attention is to be paid to more than a dozen of cancerogenic nitrosamines in tobacco smoke. The content of nitrosamines in sidestream-smoke is up to fifty times higher than in the main stream of the tobacco smoke. Tobacco smoke therefore is the most important source of nitrosamines in our environment at all. The cancerogenic effect of passive smoking is secured in animal experiments unobjectionably. Passive smoking is the most important cause of bronchitis and pneumonia in early childhood and favours inflammations of the respiratory tract in older children and in animal experiments, etc.