FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Donna Breckenridge
Tuesday, June 27,
2006
(520)
626-2277
Arizona Cancer
Center Comments on Surgeon General’s Secondhand Smoke
Report
This
morning, U.S. Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona issued a scientific report
concluding that secondhand smoke exposure, even briefly, increases the risk of
developing heart disease and lung cancer.
“This is an extremely
important announcement that has far-reaching public policy implications and
life-saving recommendations for families, especially those with pregnant women
and small children,” said Arizona Cancer Center Director David S. Alberts, M.D.
“We’ve understood the dangers of smoking for many years and know that it
increases the risk not only of lung cancer but also of breast, colon, head and
neck, cervix and bladder cancers. We’ve long suspected that secondhand smoke
exposure is a dangerous health risk as well, and now that suspicion has been
confirmed. The bottom line is that people should never expose themselves or
their loved ones to secondhand smoke, period.”
The full press
release from the Health and Human Services (HHS) is copied below. The
Arizona
Cancer
Center has the
following experts who will be available to comment on the report. Please contact Donna Breckenridge at (520) 626-2277 to
coordinate interviews.
David S. Alberts, M.D.,
Arizona
Cancer
Center
director
Linda Garland, M.D., lung cancer specialist
Scott
Leischow, Ph.D., deputy director for strategic partnerships and policy and
former senior advisor for tobacco policy at HHS (print and radio media
only)
Jesse Nodora, Dr.P.H., research scientist and former administrator
in the Arizona Dept. of Heath Services’ Tobacco Education and Prevention
Program.
Patients with lung cancer who were exposed to secondhand
smoke.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: HHS Press Office
Tuesday, June 27,
2006
(202)
690-6343
US Surgeon
General Carmona Releases Report on the Effects of Secondhand Smoke
U.S. Surgeon General Richard H.
Carmona today issued a comprehensive scientific report which concludes that
there is no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke, a finding of major
public health concern due to the fact that nearly half of all nonsmoking
Americans are still regularly exposed to secondhand smoke. According to
the report, nonsmokers exposed to secondhand smoke at home or work increase
their risk of developing heart disease by 25 to 30 percent and lung cancer by 20
to 30 percent.
The new report, The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to
Tobacco Smoke, finds that even brief secondhand smoke exposure can
cause immediate harm to people’s health. The report notes that the only way to
fully protect nonsmokers from the dangerous chemicals in secondhand smoke is to
eliminate smoking indoors.
“If we are serious about improving the
health of Americans,” said HHS Secretary Michael Leavitt, “we must redouble our
efforts to drive down tobacco use and secondhand smoke
exposure.”
The report finds that secondhand smoke exposure can
cause heart disease and lung cancer in nonsmoking adults and increases the risk
of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), respiratory problems, ear infections,
and more severe asthma in infants and children.
“The health
effects of secondhand smoke exposure are more pervasive than we previously
thought,” VADM Carmona said. “The scientific evidence is now indisputable:
secondhand smoke is not a mere annoyance. It is a serious health
hazard that can lead to disease and premature death in children and nonsmoking
adults.”
Secondhand smoke contains more than
50 cancer-causing chemicals, and is itself a known human carcinogen.
Nonsmokers who are exposed to secondhand smoke inhale many of the same
toxins as smokers. Even brief exposure to secondhand smoke has immediate
adverse effects on the cardiovascular system and increases risk for heart
disease and lung cancer.
The report notes that because their bodies are
still developing, infants and children are especially vulnerable to the poisons
in secondhand smoke. In addition, the report finds, nonsmoking women who
are exposed to secondhand smoke during pregnancy are more likely to have low
birth weight babies. These babies who may face serious health problems as
newborns and are at increased risk of long-term disabilities.
“The good
news is that, unlike some public health hazards, secondhand smoke exposure is
easily prevented,” said VADM Carmona. “Smoke-free indoor environments are
proven, simple approaches that prevent exposure and harm.” The Surgeon
General’s report finds that even the most sophisticated ventilation systems
cannot completely eliminate secondhand smoke exposure and that only smoke-free
environments afford full protection.
VADM
Carmona noted that levels of cotinine – a biological marker for secondhand smoke
exposure – measured in nonsmokers have fallen by 70 percent since the late
1980s, and the proportion of nonsmokers with detectable cotinine levels has been
halved from 88 percent in 1988-91 to 43 percent in 2001-02.
“Our progress over the past 20 years in clearing the air of
tobacco smoke is a major public health success story,” VADM Carmona said.
“We have averted many thousands of cases of disease and early death and
saved millions of dollars in health care costs.” He emphasized, however,
that sustained efforts are required protect the more than 126 million Americans
who continue to be regularly exposed to secondhand smoke in the home, at work,
and in enclosed public spaces.
To help communicate the report
findings as widely as possible, the Surgeon General unveiled an easy-to-read
guide with practical information on the dangers of secondhand smoke and steps
people can take to protect themselves.
Copies of The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to
Tobacco Smoke: A Report of the Surgeon General and related materials
are available on the Surgeon General’s Web site at www.surgeongeneral.gov <http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/>
.
###
Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and
other press materials are available at http://www.hhs.gov/news