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What the U.S. Surgeon General wants everyone to know about Secondhand Smoke
The Cost of Secondhand Smoke in Minnesota
Get the Facts About Secondhand Smoke
Learn More - Links to Secondhand Smoke Resources
What the U.S. Surgeon General wants everyone to know about Secondhand Smoke
The Surgeon General is our nation’s top public health official. On June 27, 2006 he issued a massive new report, The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke. This report focuses on research done over the last 20 years. Here are some comments from the Surgeon General about the findings of the new report:
“...science has proven that there is NO risk-free level of secondhand smoke exposure.”
“Breathing secondhand smoke for even a short time can damage cells and set the cancer process in motion. Brief exposure can have immediate harmful effects on blood and blood vessels, potentially increasing the risk of a heart attack.”
“Nonsmokers, who are exposed to secondhand smoke, at home or at work, increase their risk of developing lung cancer by 20 percent to 30 percent.”
“Nonsmoking adults who are exposed to secondhand smoke at home or at work increase their risk of developing heart disease by 25 to 30 percent.”
“An important new conclusion of this Report is that smoke-free environments are the ONLY approach that effectively protects nonsmokers from the dangers of secondhand smoke.”
Link to the Surgeon General's Report:
http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/sgr/sgr_2006/index.htm
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The Cost of Secondhand Smoke in Minnesota
A new study gives the first-ever look at the health care costs, and the cost in human lives, due to secondhand smoke in Minnesota. The study was done by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in collaboration with BlueCross and BlueShield of Minnesota. It uses Minnesota-specific data.
The study analyzes the cost of treating diseases that are caused by secondhand smoke. These diseases were identified in the 2006 Surgeon General’s Report. They include lung cancer and heart disease in adults; and low birth weight, acute respiratory illness, middle ear infections and asthma in children.
The researchers calculated the proportion of each disease caused by secondhand smoke. They found that at least 66,000 Minnesotans are treated each year for diseases caused by secondhand smoke.
The annual cost for treating illness caused by secondhand smoke in Minnesota is $215.7 million in public and private health care. This is a conservative figure that does not include costs for long-term care or lost productivity. To put this in perspective, this is more than the Minnesota state budget for transportation, early childhood education, and veterans homes combined.
The study documents that at least 581 deaths are caused each year in Minnesota by exposure to secondhand smoke. Most of these deaths are adults who die from lung cancer (112 deaths) or heart disease (411 deaths).
We all knew that we were paying a price here in Minnesota for exposure to secondhand smoke. Now we know what this cost is, both in dollars and in human suffering. Eliminating exposure to secondhand smoke at work and in public places will help to control rising health care costs, prevent unnecessary suffering and save lives.
To read the report, click here: Download PDF
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Get the Facts About Secondhand Smoke
What is secondhand smoke?
Secondhand smoke is the smoke the smoker exhales plus the smoke from the burning tip of a tobacco product such as a cigarette. Secondhand smoke is a complex mixture of over 4,000 chemicals. At least 250 of these chemicals are toxic. Eleven of these chemicals are known to cause cancer in humans. A small sample of the chemicals in secondhand smoke includes: ammonia, arsenic, benzene, lead, formaldehyde, hydrogen cyanide, and carbon monoxide.
Is it safe to breathe secondhand smoke?
Science has proven there is no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke.
What is the health cost?
About 3,000 nonsmokers die every year in America from lung cancer caused by exposure to secondhand smoke. About 46,000 nonsmokers die every year from heart disease caused by exposure to secondhand smoke.
How does secondhand smoke affect your heart?
Studies have shown that just 30 minutes of exposure to secondhand smoke can cause significant changes in the function of the heart and blood vessels of nonsmokers. Secondhand smoke affects your heart and blood vessels in many different ways. These effects interact with each other to increase the risk of heart disease by about 25 - 30%.
Is there any way to make the air safe?
No Smoking Section: A study of 17 sites with separate smoking and no smoking areas showed that there was about 50% as much smoke in the no smoking section, as there was in the smoking section. There is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke. Employees in places like restaurants and bars where smoking is permitted are exposed to secondhand smoke every day they go to work.
Ventilation Systems: The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), the organization that sets the engineering standards for ventilation systems that are used world wide, has studied the issue of indoor smoking. Their study concluded, "At present, the only means of effectively eliminating health risk associated with indoor exposure is to ban smoking activity."
Don't we have a state law?
The Minnesota Clean Indoor Air Act regulates smoking in the workplace. It does not protect all workers equally. The level of protection varies depending on the type of workplace. Many workers in Minnesota have no protection from secondhand smoke while they are working.
What is the best way to protect people at work?
According to the U. S. Surgeon General , our nation's top public health official,
smoke-free environments are the only approach that effectively protects nonsmokers from the dangers of secondhand smoke.
Footnotes - View the sources for the facts
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Learn More - Links to Secondhand Smoke Resources:
2006 Surgeon General's Report on Secondhand Smoke
American Cancer Society
American Lung Association of MN
Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights
Association for Nonsmokers - Minnesota
Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
ClearWay Minnesota
Fresh Air Minnesota
Minnesota Department of Health - Freedom to Breathe
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