Does exhaled cigarette smoke carry germs? Is it possible to catch someone’s cold or flu this way?
Smokers are as sick as non-smokers. Any disease that can be airborne will be included in the exhaled air. And smokers often cough more than non-smokers and therefore would add more germs that are carried on drops that spew out into the air. The sub-question I would add to yours is whether germs can actually ride on the smoke particles themselves.
This chart (look down near the bottom) suggests tobacco smoke is an order of magnitude too small for bacteria to cling to it, but large enough that it could carry viruses. Whether it does or not, I do not know.
I suspect the “harmless water mist” exhalations from “electronic cigarettes” ARE able to harbor bacteria (and are less likely to have burned them up), in case you want something else to worry about. 
Whether germs and/or viruses can ride the smoke is what I am asking about. Would this not increase the distance that viruses can travel? Would the warmth of the smoke keep the virus alive longer?
Or would the chemicals and heat kill the virus. I am a smoker and I don’t get sick as often as my non smoking friends.
I think the amount of heat needed to kill viruses would pretty much kill you. Remember-it’s not like you are applying the lit end of your cigarette directly to the virus.
I have no idea how much heat it takes to kill say a cold virus but the chemicals may do itgiven all the claims about whats in cigarettes
I really don’t want to get sidetracked into your highly unlikely claim that cigarette smoking makes you healthier.
Does anyone have any links to studies about germs and/or viruses and tobacco smoke?
Is it any less likely than the assumption that tobacco smoke is bad for human life, but good for bacterial/viral life?
Tons of evidence for the former vs. no evidence present(so far) for the latter. And I’m not making any assumptions whatsoever-I’m asking for information.
I did not say that cigarette smoking makes you healthier, I am offering anecdotal evidence that the chemicals in the smoke may kill the cold virus. I don’t get colds as often as my non smoking friends. Maybe I wouldn’t get a cold if I didn’t smoke, but I don’t know.
Sure it seems that smoking is bad for you but there are lots of elderly lifetime smokers who are not dying of lung cancer or any other smoking related issues.
Here’s some of the things found in cigarettes that I am guessing may kill some viruses:
Some of the carcinogenic substances found in tobacco smoke are:
Tar - used to tarmac roads.
Arsenic - very potent deadly poison.
Cadmium and nickel - used in batteries.
Vinyl chloride - used to make vinyl products. Short-term exposure causes dizziness, headaches and tiredness. Long-term exposure can lead to cancer and liver damage.
Creosote - a component of tar. If inhaled it can cause irritation of the respiratory tract.
Formaldehyde - a preservative substance used in forensic labs. It causes cancer in humans and in animals.
Polonium 210 - a radioactive substance that requires special handling techniques when studied in labs. It can cause cancer of the liver and bladder, stomach ulcers, leukaemia amongst other diseases.
Other irritant toxins that are found in cigarette smoke are:
Ammonia - a pungent colourless gas used in many cleaning products such as window or glass cleaner.
Acetone - the main component of nail varnish remover.
Acrolein - an extremely toxic substance used to manufacture acrylic acid. It is considered a possible human carcinogen and it irritates the lungs and is the cause of emphysema.
Hydrogen cyanide - deadly toxic poison used to kill rats. If breathed in in small doses, it can cause headaches, dizziness and weakness.
Carbon monoxide - a deadly gas if inhaled in enclosed spaces. Faulty and leaking gas heaters, boilers, stoves and tobacco smoke all produce this gas.
Toluene - used to manufacture paint, paint thinners, nail varnish and adhesives. Low - moderate levels can provoke tiredness, weakness, loss of appetite and memory loss.
Off-topic.
This thread is for discussing the possibility of germs and/or viruses travelling via tobacco smoke.
Do you which of these, if any, will kill viruses and/or germs?
No, I don’t. That’s why I said I am guessing.
Do you know that they don’t?
I believe there’s a place for guessing, anecdotes and blind supposition called “In My Humble Opinion”. I am asking for evidence one way or the other that pertains to the OP.
OK, how about this:
It would help to know how much is in cigarette smoke vs. how much is needed to kill viruses, and whether hot, moist smoke+breath counteracts what effect it may have. I find it surprising that I cannot find any studies on this subject at all.
I have found numerous studies that show that smoking causes the flu and the common cold to last longer and hit harder, but nothing so far on viruses in second-hand smoke. It can’t be that no one has ever considered the possibility, can it?
Why would you think that smoke would carry anything better than the water vapor we all exhale? I would think second-hand water vapor would be a much better carrier of germs than any chemical that may be mixed in.