Why is important to have laws to protect workers and the public from secondhand smoke? Watch the video below.
Secondhand smoke is known to increase non-smokers’ risk of developing lung cancer and heart disease. It can also cause asthma in small children and is a trigger for asthma attacks or even heart attacks.
The Institute of Medicine released a report in October, 2009, Secondhand Smoke Exposure and Cardiovascular Effects: Making Sense of the Evidence. This report provides a comprehensive review of the science on the relationship between secondhand smoke exposure and heart attack. The report was requested by CDC, but the review was conducted independently by the Institute of Medicine.
Major conclusions of the report:
- The evidence is consistent with a causal relationship between secondhand smoke exposure and acute coronary events, including acute myocardial infarctions.
- It is biologically plausible for a relatively brief exposure to secondhand smoke to precipitate an acute coronary event.
- There is a causal relationship between smoke-free laws and decreases in acute coronary events.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) released a new report in September, 2009, entitled “Evaluating the Effectiveness of Smoke-free Policies” which concluded that smoking bans in public places are associated with a rapid and substantial reduction in heart attacks, and these benefits increase over time.
After reviewing all the data, the U.S. Surgeon General released a report in 2006 describing all the dangers of secondhand smoke.
