Abstrakt

Currently, 4.1% of the adult population in Germany are exposed to second-hand smoke on a daily basis; together with those who are affected at least once a week, the figure is 8.2%. Fortunately, the proportion of young people who are regularly or daily exposed to passive smoking has roughly halved from 35.1 to 18.8% and from 21.9 to 10.2% between 2003 – 2006 and 2009 – 2012. A large number of studies is dedicated to the health effects of passive smoke exposure. Study quality and data situation are heterogeneous. Nevertheless, it can be summarized in simplified terms that the relative risk of lung cancer after exposure to passive smoke is between 1.3 and 1.6, breast and cervical carcinomas occur between 1.2 and 1.7 times more frequently, and cerebrovascular and cardio-circulatory effects as well as diabetes are associated with a relative risk of 1.2 – 1.3 after exposure to passive smoke. In children, asthma and otitis occur 1.2 – 1.4 times more frequently, and the relative risks for the occurrence of mental disorders appear to be 1.2 – 1.6 times higher. In 2021, the legislator introduced the new occupational disease 4116. The legal definition is “lung cancer after long-term and intensive exposure to second-hand smoke at the workplace in insured persons who have never actively smoked themselves or have smoked up to a maximum of 400 cigarette equivalents”.

Autoreninformation

Autoren

• D. Nowak

Abteilungen

• Institut und Poliklinik für Arbeits-, Sozial- und Umweltmedizin, Klinikum der Universität München, LMU München, Comprehensive Pneumology Center (CPC) Munich, Deutsches Zentrum für Lungenforschung (DZL), München

Adresse

Prof. Dr. med. Dennis Nowak
Institut und Poliklinik für Arbeits-, Sozial- und Umweltmedizin
Klinikum der Universität München, LMU München
Comprehensive Pneumology Center (CPC) Munich
Deutsches Zentrum für Lungenforschung (DZL)
Ziemssenstr. 1
80336 München
Email: [email protected]

Citation