Cigarette smoking second-hand smoke

Older children may be exposed to CDDs if they smoke cigarettes. Younger children and infants may be exposed by inhaling the second-hand smoke from their parents or other adult smokers. Parents should talk to their children about the dangers of smoking cigarettes. 

As an MCS patient, make sure you never inhale cigarette smoke (including second-hand smoke). Cigarette smoke contains some four thousand chemicals that your body would then attempt to process. Cigarette smoke can be so irritating to your mucous membranes and lungs as to leave you with small infections. Every exposure can lead to a deterioration of your condition and increase the number of substances to which you react sensitively. 

Other predisposing factors include an elevated serum IgE (>100 international units/mL) before the age of 6 years, eczema, and heavy exposure to second-hand cigarette smoke. ... 

Figure 18, Breath acetonitrile concentrations before and after exposure to second hand smoke. PTR-MS was used to measure breath acetonitrile concentrations in two individuals before and after exposure to second hand cigarette smoke in a room where acetonitrile concentrations in air were also measured. The calculated levels of breath acetonitrile (see text) are also shown. Data replotted from Ref. [87].

These natural reward centers have developed over the course of evolution to reinforce useful behaviors (e.g., pleasure, sexual satisfaction, eating, and drinking). It is believed that drugs such as cocaine and amphetamine directly stimulate these centers, while opiates free the pathways from inhibitory control. Nicotine, on the other hand, reaches the brain in as little as 10-20 seconds, where it stimulates nicotine receptors to cause dopaminergic neurons to release large quantities of dopamine. After a few hours, dopamine levels decline, causing withdrawal symptoms to readily appear (e.g., anxiety, irritability, and inattentiveness). When cigarette smokers say they need a smoke to steady their nerves, what they really mean is that they have to contend with nicotine withdrawal. 

---