We all are aware that smoking is hazardous to one’s health. But now it is being reported that prolonged exposure to second-hand smoke can cause serious damage to your Nintendo Wii.

Now who could have thought of that? But it’s actually true. Essentially, the smoke damages the laser that reads Wii game discs.

The issue came to light with the release of the latest installment in the Mario Bros series of video games-“Super Smash Brothers Brawl”. The game released in Japan last month but made its debut in the United States on Sunday and is likely to be one of Nintendo’s biggest Wii titles for 2008.

“Smash Brothers” contains so much data that it had to be produced on a double-layer DVD. This huge amount of data requires higher levels of accuracy from the internal laser that helps read the game disc, thus amplifying any deficiencies inherent within the system.

Apparently, second-hand smoke can seep into the Wii itself and leave residue or other contamination on the laser’s lens, thus interfering with the ability of the console to run a game.

According to a statement on the Nintendo Web site, “A very small percentage of Wii consoles may have trouble consistently reading data off this large-capacity disc if there is some contamination on the lens of the disc drive.”

As of now there has been no comment by Nintendo on the precise cause of the inability of the Wii to play the game disc.

But Nintendo won’t ruin your Mario Party as the company has promised to fix the problem. Gamers with Wii problems can send their consoles back to the company for a cleaning and there will be no shipping charges. Nintendo has warned customers not to try cleaning their consoles at home.

Nintendo’s Wii continues to be the best seller in U.S. video-game console sales with 432,000 Wii players being sold last month. Worldwide sales of the Wii have exceeded 20 million since it debuted in late 2006, with almost 9 million units shipped in the United States.