Jun 27 2006
Surgeon General: No Safe Secondhand Smoke
Game Over!
Today, CNN is reporting:
Separate smoking sections don’t cut it: Only smoke-free buildings and public places truly protect nonsmokers from the hazards of breathing in other people’s tobacco smoke, says a long-awaited surgeon general’s report.
Some 126 million nonsmokers are exposed to secondhand smoke, what U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona repeatedly calls “involuntary smoking” that puts people at increased risk of death from lung cancer, heart disease and other illnesses.
Moreover, there is no risk-free level of exposure to someone else’s drifting smoke, declares the report issued Tuesday — a conclusion sure to fuel already growing efforts at public smoking bans nationwide. Fourteen states have passed what are considered comprehensive smoke-free workplace laws, those that include restaurants and bars.
From Where I Sit wonders:
If what the Surgeon General says about second-hand smoke being unsafe is true…does it change your opinion about the validity of smoking bans in public bars and restaurants?
My opinion didn’t change, I still can’t stand smoke in bars and restaurants. Houston has been working for years to ban smoking in public places. Recently, the Texas Medical Center banned smoking on all TMC property (over 800 square acres). There’s nothing worse than seeing someone in scrubs lighting-up on the side of the road.
Environmental Legal says on a recent survey, the majority of adults favor a ban on smoking. The site goes on to suspect:
So, if you smoke in your own home, beware: you’re next, especially if you have kids. Just one thing–I wonder how the government will enforce an in-home smoking ban? Will the police be going to Court to get a warrant to break into your house to arrest you if there is probable cause to believe you are smoking in your den?
Stay tuned. I’ll update this post when additional information is available.
