Eliminating the Dangers of Secondhand Smoke
Sound Bites
• Protect your child’s right to breathe clean air. Create tobacco-free environments for youth.
…want ze krijgen er astma of longkanker van? Zie WHO-rapport en Astma
• There is no safe level of exposure to a cancer-causing substance.
Zie meeroken-analyse. Dan moeten we auto’s dus ook maar verbieden?
• Cigarette smoke is an air pollutant more than twice as cancer-causing as many toxic chemicals widely banned from use.
Enig wetenschappelijk bewijs ontbreekt. Omgevingsrook werd door EPA in 1993 op de Carcinogeen A lijst geplaatst. In 1998 werd dit door een Federale rechter als onjuist betiteld. De EPA was niet gerechtigd dit te doen. Haar onderzoek werd voor het grootste gedeelte wegens grote onnauwkeurigheden naar de prullenbak verwezen. (Uitspraak rechter)
• We would never knowingly allow our children to be exposed to asbestos, a Class A carcinogen. Yet, secondhand smoke, like asbestos, is a Class A carcinogen and we allow our children to be exposed to it daily throughout our community.
Zie boven. Geen Carcinogeen A.
• Food service workers have a 50% higher risk of lung cancer than the general population.
Onzin. Diverse onderzoeken hebben uitgewezen dat dit niet zo is:
- ORNL (VS overheidsinstituut) (PubMed publicatie)
- Canadees onderzoek
• Everyone sucks second-hand smoke (from Marquette, Michigan campaign).
Talking Points
Startling facts about secondhand smoke
• Secondhand smoke contains more than 4,000 chemicals; 200 are poisons and 43 cause cancer.1
…maar door de verdunning die plaatsvindt stelt het niks meer voor.
• The EPA classified secondhand smoke as a Group A carcinogen which means it’s known to cause cancer in humans. Only 15 other pollutants received the same classification including asbestos and radon.1
Zie boven. Geen Carcinogeen A.
• Secondhand smoke spreads rapidly throughout buildings and persists long after smoking ends. In buildings where smoking is permitted, secondhand smoke represents some of the strongest sources of indoor-air pollution from tar particulates (very small particles of tar).2
Maar het blijft, door de verdunning, onbelangrijk voor de algehele gezondheidstoestand van gezonde mensen. De huidige ventilatie standaarden, zoals onder andere door de Amerikaanse Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board (OSHA) vereist, zijn voldoende om deze nadelen van omgevingsrook weg te werken.
Vital Statistics
• Each year, approximately 3,000 American nonsmokers die from lung cancer caused by secondhand smoke.3
Een cijfer dat via een computermodel wordt berekend en niet door wetenschappelijk onderzoek ondersteund wordt.
• The risk of heart disease for smokers is enormous. An individual smoking as few as 1-4 cigarettes per day is associated with a doubling in risk of coronary heart disease.4
De Monica studie, het grootste onderzoek op dit gebied ooit gehouden, heeft dit niet kunnen aantonen. Andere studies leveren ook geen statistisch significant bewijs.
Health effects in children
• Children exposed to second hand smoke are more likely to have middle ear disease and decreased lung function.5
…maar ze bouwen volgens de Wereldgezondheidsorganisatie wél weerstand op tegen longkanker. Het onderzoek van de EPA waar deze statements naar verwijzen wordt hier, met behulp van verwijzingen naar conflicterend onderzoek, door Forces becommentariëerd.
• Children are especially vulnerable to secondhand smoke. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that secondhand smoke exposure from parental smoking causes 150,000 to 300,000 lower respiratory tract infections per year in children under 18 months of age. 5
Zie Forces commentaar op EPA onderzoek.
• Secondhand smoke exposure is linked to an increased risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), the leading cause of death in infants between one month and one year of age. 5
Zie voorgaand commentaar en de Forces pagina over Wiegendood.
Shortfalls of state law
• The Minnesota Clean Indoor Air Act is only a starting point. The law does not protect youth from secondhand smoke in many areas where they work and play including fast food and other restaurants, some worksites, apartment buildings, cultural centers, sports facilities, recreation centers, and more.
• Many communities from California to Massachusetts have implemented laws restricting smoking in public places with few problems and little cost to local government. No community in Minnesota, however, has passed an ordinance stricter than the state law yet.
Lees hier, hier en hier over de gevolgen van rookverboden in de horeca.
Youth exposure to secondhand smoke
• Two out of five children in the US are exposed to secondhand smoke in their homes6 and these children miss one-third more school days annually than children from non-smoking homes.7
• Nearly 40% of the fast food employees and nearly 35% of fast food customers are under the age of 18.8 Secondhand smoke levels in restaurants were found to be two times higher than in offices. Secondhand smoke levels in bars were between four and six times higher than in offices.9
• Research by the National Cancer Institute found that workers between the ages of 15 and 19 were the least likely to be protected by smoke-free workplace policies.
• Employees’ exposure to secondhand smoke in restaurants is approximately two times higher than in office work places. Nonsmoking food service workers face a considerably higher death rate from lung cancer than the nonsmoking population as a whole.9
Secondhand smoke and restaurants
• No-smoking sections in restaurants offer minimal protection from secondhand smoke. Smoke from the smoking section drifts throughout the restaurant. Secondhand smoke cannot be controlled by ventilation, air cleaning, or spatial separation of smokers from nonsmokers.4
Lees o.a. hier over de gevolgen van rookverboden in de Horeca.
References
1. United States Environmental Protection Agency. Respiratory Health Effects of Passive Smoking: Lung Cancer and Other Disorders. Office of Research and Development. Washington, DC, Dec 1992.
2. US Environmental Protection Agency. Indoor Air Facts No. 5: Environmental Tobacco Smoke. June 1989.
3. Dockery DW. Risk of lung cancer from environmental exposures to tobacco smoke. Cancer Causes and Control; 8:333-345, 1997.
4. Repace J. Fact Sheet on Secondhand Smoke. Second European Conference on Tobacco or Health. February 1999.
5. Based on publications from the CDC, April 1997, and the EPA-43-5-93-0030, and the California Environmental Protection Agency: Health Effects of Exposure to Environmental Tobacco Smoke: Final Report, September 1997.
6. Pirkle JL, Flegal KM, Bernert JT, Brody DJ, Etzel RA. Maurer KR. Exposure of the US population to environmental tobacco smoke:the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1988 to 1991. Journal of the American Medical Association, 275(16): 1233-40, 1996.
7. Mannino DM, Siegel M, Husten C, Rose D, Etzel R. Environmental tobacco smoke exposure and heath effects in children: results from the 1991 National Heath Interview Survey.Tobacco Control. 5:13-18, 1996.
8. Most Adults under 35 have worked in food service. Food Service News; 24, August 1994.
9. Siegel M. Involuntary smoking in the restaurant workplace: a review of employee exposure and health. Journal of the American Medical Association 270(4):490-93, 1993.
Eliminating the Dangers of Secondhand Smoke
Sample Op Ed/Letter to the Editor
By now, the debate on secondhand smoke should not be cloudy. Numerous studies show that secondhand smoke is harmful and even deadly.
Secondhand smoke is classified as a Class A (known human) carcinogen by the Environmental Protection Agency. Each year, approximately 3,000 American nonsmokers die from lung cancer caused by secondhand smoke. Children are especially vulnerable to secondhand smoke. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that secondhand smoke exposure from parental smoking causes 150,000 to 300,000 lower respiratory tract infections each year in children under 18 months of age. Secondhand smoke exposure has also been linked to an increased risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).
Workers exposed to secondhand smoke on the job are also at increased risk. Many workplaces in Minnesota are covered by the Minnesota Clean Indoor Air Act and are, therefore, smoke-free. But plenty of workplaces are not. Restaurants are an obvious exception. Not only do restaurant workers have a 50% higher risk of lung cancer than the general population, but many of these workers are minors. In fact, nearly 40% of fast food employees are under the age of 18.
So why isn’t the air cleaner in (insert name of community)? The Tobacco Free Future Project, sponsored by the University of Minnesota, is working hard to create more smoke-free environments in our community and deserves our support.
Smoke-free environments in (name of community) would have several benefits, including reduced exposure to secondhand smoke, savings in cleaning and maintenance costs to businesses, and reduced risk of fire damage. Additionally, smokers may be more likely to quit if the behavior becomes less convenient. Youth may also be less likely to start if they see fewer role models smoking and have fewer opportunities to bum free cigarettes off friends and adults in public gathering spots.
(Name of community) deserves fresh air for all its citizens.
Other Ideas for Letters to the Editor
• Have a parent whose child works in a restaurant talk about concerns that the child is being exposed to secondhand smoke. Discuss the special risks food service employees face and how making restaurants smoke-free would reduce these risks and make smoking more difficult for adults and teens.
• Have a doctor (or nurse) write a letter about the risks of secondhand smoke to children and the concern that many of their patients smoke around their children. They can also mention that children with parents who smoke are more likely to smoke themselves. Then have them discuss how parents should consider making their homes smoke free.
• Have a student write about working in a place that allows smoking. Have her/him discuss the negative health effects of secondhand smoke and impact of seeing people smoke in public.
Eliminating the Dangers of Secondhand Smoke
30-Second Radio Public Service Announcement
