E FFECTS OF S ECONDHAND S MOKE Pat McKone, Director American Lung Association of the Upper Midwest.

EFFECTS OF SECONDHAND SMOKEPat McKone, Director

American Lung Association of the Upper Midwest

WE’VE COME A LONG WAY SINCE,…

WHAT IS ENVIRONMENTAL TOBACCO SMOKE (ETS) ..SECONDHAND SMOKE?

INDOOR AIR POLLUTION90% OF TIME SPENT INDOORS

SURGEON GENERAL REPORT

WHAT’S IN TOBACCO SMOKE?

• Particulates• carbon monoxide• nicotine• benzene• nitrosamines• polycyclic hydrocarbons• 3,000 - 4,000 others

IT’S A SERIOUS DANGER TO HEALTH

Secondhand smoke is a leading cause of preventable death in the U.S.

Mokdad, AH et al. “Actual Causes of Death in the United States, 2000.” JAMA. 2004; 291: 1238-1245.

Secondhand smoke causes at least 38,000 deaths annually in U.S.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Annual smoking-attributable mortality, years of potential life lost, and productivity losses.” MMWR. 2005; 54: 625-628

Hundreds of studies have documented secondhand smoke as a cause of serious health problems.

U.S. SURGEON GENERAL’S 2006 REPORT CONCLUSIONS

No Risk Free Level of Exposure

TOBACCO SMOKE

The concentration of some chemicals in side-stream smoke is 10 x greater than in main-stream smoke

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HEALTH EFFECTS ON CHILDREN Fetal growth retardation SIDS Respiratory problems in children Asthma in children Eye and nasal irritation Middle ear infections in children Lung cancer Nasal sinus cancer Heart disease Mortality due to heart disease

(1997 Comprehensive Study by Cal EPA)

OTHER HEALTH EFFECTS Pre-term delivery

Asthma induction in adults

Breast cancer in younger (primarily pre-menopausal) women

Acute and chronic heart disease

Altered vascular properties

About 49,000 deaths (not including breast cancer)

(2005 Report Expanded Impacts)

EFFECTS ON THE HEART

Interferes with normal functioning of the heart, blood and vascular systems

Increases “stickiness” of platelets even with brief exposures

Damages the lining of blood vessels

LUNG CANCER All major health authorities agree that

secondhand smoke causes cancer:

U.S. Surgeon General linked SHS to lung cancer.

U.S. Dept of Health & Human Services. The Health Consequences of Involuntary Smoking: A Report of the Surgeon General. 1986; p. 7

Classified as a Group A carcinogen by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, meaning it is known to cause cancer in humans.

U.S. EPA, Respiratory Health Effects of Passive Smoking: Lung Cancer and Other Disorders. 1992; p. 5-68

LUNG CANCER

VENTILATION

According to ASHRAE, the organization that establishes industry standards for ventilation:The only means of effectively eliminating

health risks associated with indoor exposure to SHS is to ban smoking activity.

Engineering approaches, such as ventilation and air cleaning, cannot be relied on to control the health risks associated with SHS exposure.

Samet, J et al. “ASHRAE position document on environmental tobacco smoke.” 2005.

THIRDHAND SMOKE

Residual chemicals left on a variety of indoor surfaces

The science is still emerging

WHAT CAN WE DO?

Only Smoke-free policies fully protect

NO SMOKING sections do not protect

Cleaning the air or ventilating buildings does not fully protect non-smokers