SmokeHaz was a collaboration between the European Respiratory Society (ERS) and the UK Centre for Tobacco and Alcohol Studies (UKCTAS). The two organisations joined forces with the European Lung Foundation (ELF) to produce the SmokeHaz website.
The aim of the SmokeHaz website was to provide a one-stop web platform assessing the relationship between active and passive smoking and a range of specific health outcomes, particularly focusing on lung health.

All of the available scientific studies that provided an unbiased account of the true relationship between smoking and health were collected and analysed using systematic reviews and meta-analysis. A full outline of the methods used can be found here.

The research was independently funded by the ERS and was carried out by the UKCTAS with the oversight of the ERS Tobacco Control Committee (TCC). The outcomes of the project were approved by the Executive Committee of ERS.

Active and passive smoking are linked to many lung conditions. A summary of the main findings of the SmokeHaz project can be found here and downloaded. A link to the full paper published can be found here: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27102185/

In adults

Lung cancer is 11 times more likely in active smokers and 1.41 times (41%) more likely in people exposed to passive smoke. COPD is 4 times more likely in active smokers and more likely in non-smokers exposed to passive smoke. Adult asthma is 1.61 times (61%) more likely in active smokers. TB is 1.57 times (57%) more likely in active smokers and 1.44 times (44%) more likely for non-smokers exposed to passive smoke. Asthma exacerbations are 1.71 times (71%) more likely in active smokers. Sleep apnoea is 2 times more likely in active smokers.

In children

Lower respiratory infections are 1.82 times (82%) more likely in infants exposed to passive smoke from both parents. Childhood asthma and wheeze are 1.65-1.70 times (65-70%) more likely in children exposed to passive maternal smoke and 1.30-1.50 times (30-50%) more likely in children exposed to prenatal smoking. Asthma exacerbations are 2.55-3.25 times more likely in children with asthma who are exposed to passive smoking. Sleep apnoea is more likely in children exposed to passive smoking by the mother either during or after pregnancy. The summary document is also available in: Arabic, German, Greek, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, French and Spanish. To ensure the strictest independence and integrity of the science, the research has omitted any declared or identifiable studies from the tobacco industry.

1. To prevent uptake of smoking it is important to develop more smoke-free areas in public, to increase the price of cigarettes and remove smoking from media and internet content. This will progressively reduce morbidity and mortality from smoking within the next two decades and into the future.
2. Comprehensive local, national and EU interventions against smoking should be further strengthened, including sustained health promotion media campaigns, large pictorial warnings and plain packaging on tobacco products, and tobacco use should be phased-out.
3. To reduce the burden of tobacco-induced respiratory disorders it is important to encourage all current smokers to quit in order to reduce morbidity and mortality from smoking over the next two decades and beyond. Read the ERS Task Force recommendations on ‘Smoking cessation in patients with respiratory diseases: a high priority, integral component of therapy’.
4. Smoking cessation treatment (counselling in combination with drugs) is one of the most cost-effective interventions in medicine; it should be used more widely and its cost should be reimbursed completely. Education and training in cessation of tobacco use should be included in the curricula of all health professionals and medical students. Read the European Respiratory Monograph on Smoking Cessation.
5. The UK model, with public smoking cessation clinics for every 150,000 people in the population and reimbursement of smoking cessation therapy, could be a model for other European countries.
6. The obligations and guidelines of the WHO Framework Convention of Tobacco Control should be further implemented across Europe.
7. Current smoke-free laws protect adults in the workplace and entertainment venues. However, these laws do not prevent exposure in the womb, in the home or in private vehicles, where levels of toxins can be very high. Legislation to protect newborns and children is needed to prevent harm to exposed children.

The summary document is also available in Arabic, German, Greek, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, French and Spanish.