Secondhand smoke, also known as environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), or passive
smoking, is the third leading cause of preventable death in the U.S. It
kills approximately 65,000 nonsmokers annually. Consider these facts about
secondhand smoke:
•
Nearly 9 out of 10 nonsmokers in the U.S. are exposed
to secondhand smoke. (1).
•
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has
classified secondhand smoke as a “Group A” Carcinogen
– a substance known to cause cancer in humans. (2)
•
Among healthy, nonsmokers, exposure to secondhand smoke
in the workplace causes lung cancer, heart disease, chronic bronchitis
and asthma in adults and affects pregnancy, causing low birth-weight
babies
•
After only 30 minutes, secondhand smoke starts to affect
blood vessels in ways that can lead to heart disease and stroke.
1
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Best Practices
for Comprehensive Tobacco Control Programs, August 1999, p.8.
2
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Rspiratory Health Effects
of Involuntary Smoking, 1993.
Strengthening local clean indoor air laws is one way to reduce exposure
to secondhand smoke. These laws may include provisions for 100% smoke-free
public places, workplaces, restaurants and other businesses. To learn more
about secondhand smoke and how to strengthen local clean indoor air laws
to protect the public health, click on the links below:
www.tobaccoscam.org:
find out how the tobacco industry uses the restaurant industry to fight
clean indoor air laws.
The links on this page will take you off the SmokeLess
State's Web site. SmokeLess States does not assume responsibility for the
content of other web sites.
