International Journal of Research in Medical Sciences | November 2016 | Vol 4 | Issue 11 Page 4970 International Journal of Research in Medical Sciences Kalyan M et al. Int J Res Med Sci. 2016 Nov;4(11):4970-4973 www.msjonline.org pISSN 2320-6071 | eISSN 2320-6012 Original Research Article Effect of passive smoking as a risk factor for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in normal healthy women Meenakshi Kalyan*, Shubhangi A. Kanitkar, Aayush Gupta, Devanshi Sharma, Sanam Singh INTRODUCTION Passive smoking or environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) is a combination of side stream smoke emitted from the burning end of a cigarette and the remainder of mainstream smoke exhaled by a smoker. The side stream smoke constitutes about 85% of the smoke present in the room where active smokers smoke, and contains many potentially toxic components, some of which may occur in even higher concentrations than in the mainstream smoke. 1 The particulate phase consists of tar, nicotine, benzo(a)pyrene, and hundreds of other noxious compounds. Active smoking remains the main risk factor for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), yet COPD occurs also in never smokers. 2 Exposure to passive smoking has been implicated as a causal factor of cardiovascular disease, asthma in children and lung cancer and has been estimated to cause about 1% of overall global mortality. 3 In India, smoking is a common habit in both the urban and rural areas in the form of cigarettes, bidis, pipes, cigar, hookah. 4 There is a biological plausibility of ETS as a causal factor for COPD. Although studies have shown associations between exposure to ETS and respiratory symptoms, a clear causal relationship between ETS and COPD has proved more difficult to establish. 5 COPD is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by ABSTRACT Background: Environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, asthma in children and lung cancer. There is a biological plausibility of ETS as a causal factor for COPD. Objectives of the study were to examine the effect of passive smoking on lung function in non-smoking healthy women and to co-relate the effects of passive smoke as a risk factor for COPD. Methods: 50 women between 20-40 years of age exposed to passive smoke at home and workplace were assessed by questionnaire. The pulmonary function tests were performed and the values of FEV1 and FVC were obtained by a spirometer. Results: Out of 50 women, 34 % at workplace, 54% at home and 12% at home and workplace were exposed. Mean age was 30.3 years. Mean±SD of FEV1 was 1.94±0.9, FVC was 2.54±1.06, FEV1/FVC was 73.5±10.06 predicted FEV1 % was 63.2±23.2. FEV1/FVC of women exposed at home and workplace was 70.84 indicating that they have higher chances of developing COPD later in life. Conclusions: Passive smoking represents a serious health hazard that can be prevented by health education campaigns. Keywords: Environmental tobacco smoke, Pulmonary function tests Department of Medicine, Dr. D.Y. Patil Medical College Hospital and Research Centre, Sant Tukaram Nagar, Pimpri, Pune – 411018, Maharashtra, India Received: 08 September 2016 Accepted: 04 October 2016 *Correspondence: Dr. Meenakshi Kalyan, E-mail: drmeenakshi.kalyan@gmail.com Copyright: © the author(s), publisher and licensee Medip Academy. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.18203/2320-6012.ijrms20163800