Can a few minutes of breathing in second hand smoke cause any significant damage to your lungs?

Likely not: Prolonged exposure to high levels of second hand smoke may increase risks of chronic lung diseases. A short (one short time interval) duration exposure to second hand smoke will not impact long term lung function for most people. If someone has severe lung disease at a baseline, then a short smoking exposure could have a serious impact (depends upon baseline lung function). Hope this helps.