58 Million Non-Smokers Inhale Tobacco Smoke Every Year in US: CDC

One in four adults in the US in 2011-12 was exposed to second hand smoke that kills over 41,000 people including 400 infants, every year.

While releasing the figures, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) maintained that exposure to second hand smoke or SHS is greater among African Americans, children, people below poverty line and people living in rented accommodation.

"Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) show that declines in exposure to SHS have been slower and exposure remains higher among children, blacks, those who live in poverty, and those who live in rental housing. The report finds two in every five children aged three to 11 years are still exposed to SHS," the CDC said in a news release.

The report counts 58 million Americans who were exposed to second hand smoke during 2011-2012, with exposure most frequently occurring in homes, according to Medical News Today.

While CDC prescribes a long list of dos for states and people to ameliorate the situation, the report points to an improvement since late 1990s when half of all non-smokers were exposed to second hand smoke. The decline however was disappointing among African American population with black children witnessing exposure twice the levels white children are exposed to, IB Times reports.