1. How Smoking Affects Your Looks and Life Slideshow
2. Tips to Quit Smoking Slideshow
3. Take the Quiz on Smoking

Medical Author:

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.

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Medical Editor:

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Dr. Charles "Pat" Davis, MD, PhD, is a board certified Emergency Medicine doctor who currently practices as a consultant and staff member for hospitals. He has a PhD in Microbiology (UT at Austin), and the MD (Univ. Texas Medical Branch, Galveston). He is a Clinical Professor (retired) in the Division of Emergency Medicine, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, and has been the Chief of Emergency Medicine at UT Medical Branch and at UTHSCSA with over 250 publications.

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Secondhand smoke is a known contributor to premature death in both adults and children. If you are a smoker, quitting smoking is the best way to protect your children, other family members, and friends from the serious health risks of passive smoking. Nonsmokers and smokers who wish to protect their families from these risks should not allow themselves or others to smoke in their homes.

In the U.S. and many other nations, governments have enacted a variety of laws designed to protect people from health dangers associated with secondhand smoke. Public interest and legislation to prevent smoking in workplaces and public buildings is on the rise as the public becomes more informed about the risks of secondhand smoke. The U.S. Surgeon General confirms that smoke-free workplaces are the only way to protect people from exposure to secondhand smoke in the workplace, since steps such as having separate smoking areas, air purification, and ventilating the building have all not been proven sufficient to prevent exposure if smoking is allowed inside the building.

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