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Secondhand Smoke |
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Secondhand Smoke a Threat to All, Surgeon
General Warns
It increases risk of heart disease, lung cancer
and SIDS, report finds
No amount of secondhand smoke is safe.
And the only way to protect nonsmokers is through
smoke-free environments. Separating smokers and
nonsmokers within the same air space or relying
on sophisticated ventilation systems just doesn't
work.
That's the conclusion of a new U.S. Surgeon General's
report issued Tuesday, which determined that nonsmokers
who were exposed to secondhand smoke at home or
work had a 25 percent to 30 percent increased
risk of developing heart disease and a 20 percent
to 30 percent increased risk for lung cancer.
"Science has proven that there is no risk-free
level of exposure to secondhand smoke. Let me
say that again: There is no safe level of exposure
to secondhand smoke," Dr. Richard H. Carmona,
U.S. Surgeon General, said in prepared remarks.
"Only smoke-free environments effectively
protect nonsmokers from secondhand smoke exposure
in indoor spaces," he said.
Paul G. Billings, the American Lung Association's
vice president of national policy and advocacy,
added: "Essentially, the Surgeon General
slammed the book on any scientific debate on secondhand
smoke. The evidence is clear. Secondhand smoke
is harmful and needs to be eliminated."
The sweeping report, The Health Consequences of
Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke, was based
on the latest research on the topic. The last
comprehensive review of secondhand smoke by the
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services came
out in 1986; that report concluded that secondhand
smoke causes lung cancer in nonsmokers.
Some 126 million Americans are still exposed to
secondhand smoke. The risks are well documented
and include heart disease and lung cancer in nonsmoking
adults as well as sudden infant death syndrome
(SIDS), respiratory problems, ear infections and
asthma attacks in infants and children. Slightly
more than 20 percent of children are exposed to
secondhand smoke at home.
"Breathing secondhand smoke for even a short
time can damage cells and set the cancer process
in motion," Carmona said. "Brief exposure
can have immediate harmful effects on blood and
blood vessels, potentially increasing the risk
of a heart attack. Secondhand smoke exposure can
quickly irritate the lungs, or trigger an asthma
attack. For some people, these rapid effects can
be life-threatening. People who already have heart
disease or respiratory conditions are at especially
high risk," he added.
According to the report, nearly half of all nonsmoking
Americans are regularly exposed to secondhand
smoke. In 2005, an estimated 3,000 adult nonsmokers
died from lung cancer as a result of exposure
to secondhand smoke, 46,000 from coronary heart
disease and 430 newborns from SIDS.
Secondhand smoke contains more than 50 carcinogens
and is a known human carcinogen, the report said.
The report also found that living with a smoker
increases a nonsmoker's risk of lung cancer and
heart disease by up to 30 percent. The evidence
linking secondhand smoke and breast cancer, at
this point, is only suggestive.
And while progress to control secondhand smoke
has been made, it's not nearly enough, health
officials said.
"The good news is that, unlike some public
health hazards, secondhand smoke exposure is preventable,"
Carmona said. "A proven method exists for
protecting nonsmokers from the health risks associated
with secondhand smoke exposure: Avoiding places
where secondhand smoke is present," he said.
According to the report, comprehensive smoking
bans such as those in New York City and Boston
have not hurt the hospitality industry. Also,
restricting smoking in the workplace not only
reduces secondhand smoke but also reduces active
smoking.
Such statements are likely to fuel legislative
efforts to ban smoking indoors.
"The report is going to provide an additional
tool and some very robust conclusions to support
smoke-free laws and ordinances across the country,"
Billings said. "If anything, the momentum
and the pace of passing smoke-free air laws will
increase as a result of the report," he said.
"Those are very powerful conclusions, because
those are some of the arguments the foes of eliminating
secondhand smoke try to use," Billings continued.
"I think this report will rebut those kinds
of claims once and for all," he added.
In the meantime, the Surgeon General has these
tips on protecting yourself and your loved ones
from the effects of secondhand smoke:
• Make your home and car smoke-free.
• Ask people not to smoke around you or
your children.
• Make sure that your children's day-care
center or school is smoke-free.
• Patronize restaurants and other businesses
that are smoke-free.
• Teach children to stay away from secondhand
smoke.
• Avoid secondhand smoke exposure especially
if you or your children have respiratory conditions,
if you have heart disease, or if you are pregnant.
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