New Study Links Secondhand Smoke to Sinus Conditions

By now, most of us realize the dangers of smoking, including the damaging effects associated with being exposed to secondhand smoke. But in a new study undertaken by researchers at the Henry Ford Health System, the list of health risks connected to secondhand smoke continues to grow.

The study is believed to be the first time researchers evaluated the association between secondhand smoke and chronic rhinosinusitis, one of the most common health conditions in the United States affecting more than 39 million people, or one in seven adults, every year. Chronic rhinosinusitis, or CRS, is a form of sinusitis in which the moist tissues of the nose and paranasal sinuses become inflamed resulting in headaches, congestion, sneezing and a runny nose.

And the results of this landmark study couldn’t be timelier: On May 1, Michigan became the 38^th state to limit smoking in public places, government buildings, workplaces, bars and restaurants.

Researchers found that people are at an increased risk for developing rhinosinusitis from exposure to secondhand smoke at home and public places like bars and restaurants, but that the risk is even higher at work and at private social settings.

“The smoking ban has the power to have an enormous impact on sinus and nasal conditions because the air will be much cleaner in work places and at social functions. This can lead to significantly less symptoms for those affected by sinus conditions,” says Amanda Holm, MPH, a co-author on the study and project manager in Henry Ford Health System’s Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention.

In fact, given the results of this study, nearly 40 percent of chronic rhinosinusitis diagnoses are estimated to be prevented if individuals are no longer exposed to secondhand smoke.

According to Holm, the poisons in secondhand smoke are known irritants to the nasal passages and sinuses. It exacerbates the sinus conditions that people have and it is a major contributor to the development of rhinosinusitis.

According to Henry Ford Health Systems, secondhand smoke accounts for an estimated 3,000 lung cancer deaths and 30,000 heart disease deaths annually. Moreover, secondhand smoke is the third leading cause of preventable death in Michigan, which results in about 2,500 deaths a year.

States that have banned smoking from public places have seen tremendous boons in health outcomes. For instance, a study conducted by the state Department of Public Health and the Harvard School of Public Health, showed a steep decline in heart attack deaths since the ban was implemented in 2004. Heart attack deaths in Massachusetts plummeted 30 percent, a benefit that cannot just be attributed to improvements in medical treatments and access to care.

While sinus problems may not carry the fatal risk as lung cancer, heart attacks or strokes, conditions that are strongly linked to smoking, they do pose uncomfortable and chronic symptoms.

“Eliminating exposure to secondhand smoke can lead to a lot less headaches and nasal congestion,” says Holms. Factor in the cost of sinus medications and the overall discomfort of being plagued by constant sneezing and a running nose and the case for smoking bans is making it a little bit easier to breathe.