Can a person sue for exposure to secondhand smoke?

If you suspect that you’ve been injured due to exposure to secondhand smoke, you may have legal recourse. While legal cases regarding exposure to second-hand smoke may have been considered doomed thirty years ago, there has been a significant change in public opinion and in the law to make these cases more successful.

How to protect people from exposure to second-hand smoke?

Only a total ban on smoking in public places, including all indoor workplaces, protects people from the harms of second-hand smoke, helps smokers quit and reduces youth smoking. Guidelines to Article 8 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control help countries know exactly what to do to protect their people from second-hand smoke.

Can a premises not be subject to a smoking ban?

If premises are not subject to a statutory ban on smoking, this does not diminish the legal responsibility of employers and occupiers to ensure workers and members of the public are not subjected to risks to their health and safety, for example from exposure to secondhand smoke.

How is secondhand smoke harmful to children and adults?

Secondhand Smoke Harms Children and Adults There is no risk-free level of secondhand smoke exposure; even brief exposure can be harmful to health.1,2,6 Since 1964, approximately 2,500,000 nonsmokers have died from health problems caused by exposure to secondhand smoke.1

How to protect your family from secondhand smoke?

There are also steps you can take to protect yourself and your family from secondhand smoke, such as making your home and vehicles smokefree. 2,3 These laws and policies are the only way to fully protect people who do not smoke from secondhand smoke exposure.

Who is most likely to be exposed to secondhand smoke?

A larger percentage of non-Hispanic Black and non-Hispanic white middle and high school students in the U.S. reported being exposed to secondhand smoke in 2019 than Hispanic/Latinx middle and high school students or students of other races. 9 Children Can’t Hide from Secondhand Smoke at Home.

Where does secondhand smoke go in an apartment?

Smoking in another room like a bathroom or bedroom can still spread secondhand smoke through the air in your home. In an apartment building, secondhand smoke can go in between apartments. Smoking outside in a hall or stairwell does not protect children inside.