Secondhand smoke serious health hazard

Breathing any amount of someone else’s tobacco smoke harms nonsmokers, the surgeon general declared Tuesday ? a strong condemnation of secondhand smoke that is sure to fuel nationwide efforts to ban smoking in public.

“The debate is over. The science is clear: Secondhand smoke is not a mere annoyance, but a serious health hazard,” said U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona.

More than 126 million nonsmoking Americans are regularly exposed to smokers’ fumes ? what Carmona termed “involuntary smoking” ? and tens of thousands die each year as a result, concludes the 670-page study. It cites “overwhelming scientific evidence” that secondhand smoke causes heart disease, lung cancer and a list of other illnesses.

The report calls for completely smoke-free buildings and public places, saying that separate smoking sections and ventilation systems don’t fully protect nonsmokers. Seventeen states and more than 400 towns, cities and counties have passed strong no-smoking laws.