The Qingming holiday is coming soon, and recently many people have begun to sweep their graves early. A few days ago, news reports pointed out that there have been many large-scale fire incidents caused by people burning weeds or burning paper money in cemeteries along the slopes along the national highway.
However, in addition to burning weeds and paper money that will affect driving safety, burning “biomass”, such as wood, coal, crop residues, garbage, etc., will release a large amount of harmful gases and particulate matter, which is harmful to human health and environment are seriously endangered. The main harmful gases produced by burning biomass include carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, formaldehyde, benzene, etc. These gases are harmful to human health. For example, carbon dioxide is one of the greenhouse gases, long-term exposure to high concentrations of carbon dioxide may cause serious effects on the human body, such as headaches, nausea, vomiting and other symptoms. Carbon monoxide can affect the respiratory system and cardiovascular system of the human body, causing headaches, nausea, fainting and other symptoms, and even death. Nitrogen oxides can cause respiratory disease and immune system damage. The particulate matter produced by burning biomass, such as PM10, PM2.5, etc., is also harmful to human health. These particulate matter can enter the human body through the respiratory tract, causing respiratory diseases, such as bronchitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, etc., and even increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer. In addition, burning biomass will also cause serious pollution to the environment, such as air pollution, water pollution, soil pollution, etc., seriously affecting the ecological balance and the quality of human life.
Another common but often overlooked hazard caused by combustion is second-hand smoke from cigarettes. The smoke produced by burning cigarettes contains a variety of harmful chemicals, such as carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, benzene, etc. These substances will cause harm to the smoker’s body and increase the risk of suffering from various diseases, including lung cancer, heart disease, stroke, chronic obstruction pulmonary disease, etc. Therefore second-hand smoke of cigarettes is also a factor that endangers health. Secondhand smoke from cigarettes, including smoke exhaled by smokers and smoke from the end of burning cigarettes, can cause harm to those around you. Studies have shown that long-term exposure to second-hand smoke can increase the risk of heart disease, stroke, lung cancer and other diseases, especially for the elderly and children.
We must also be aware that second-hand smoke from cigarettes has a very serious impact on the elderly. Because the physical condition of the elderly is usually more fragile than that of the young, their immune system and body organ functions are not as good as they were when they were young, so they are more vulnerable to second-hand smoke. New research shows that chronic exposure to secondhand smoke in older adults over the age of sixty increases the risk of frailty, a physiological condition caused by a decline in physical, muscular and mental function that affects quality of life and self-care ability. Frailty is considered a precursor to other geriatric syndromes such as falls, fractures, acute encephalic syndrome, and urinary incontinence. When people have frailty, they are more likely to suffer from cardiovascular disease, dementia, or mortality in the future, and they are more likely to fall. The chance of future disability is five times that of healthy people.
In addition, second-hand smoke from cigarettes may also aggravate the existing health problems of the elderly, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma and other respiratory diseases, as well as bone problems such as osteoporosis. Past research has shown that people, especially women, who are chronically exposed to second-hand smoke from cigarettes may have an increased risk of developing osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is a common geriatric disease characterized by decreased bone density, making bones weak and brittle, and prone to fractures. At present, the mechanism of second-hand smoke’s impact on osteoporosis is not fully understood, but studies have shown that harmful chemicals in second-hand smoke of cigarettes, such as benzene, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, etc., may have a negative impact on bone metabolism and lead to osteoporosis . Long-term exposure to second-hand smoke from cigarettes will affect the body’s ability to absorb nutrients, such as calcium and vitamin D, which in turn will have a negative impact on bone health.