Once again the unsolicited
opinion of the `Surgeon General' is wheeled out to frighten the masses.
A Warning on Hazards of Secondhand Smoke
By JOHN O'NEIL Published: June 28, 2006
The evidence is now "indisputable" that secondhand smoke is an "alarming" public health hazard, responsible for tens of thousands of premature deaths among nonsmokers each year, Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona said yesterday.
Dr. Carmona warned that measures like no-smoking sections did not provide adequate protection, adding, "Smoke-free environments are the only approach that protects nonsmokers from the dangers of secondhand smoke."
In the interests of full disclosure, Surgeon General Carmona and Dr. Carmona also happen to be Admiral Carmona, USN.
Yes folks, Admiral as in someone sworn to follow the orders of their civilian masters in government...not that anyone needs to be `ordered' to protect the general health of the US Public (although it might help.)
Let's look at the Surgeon General's findings:
There is no safe level of secondhand smoke, and even brief exposure can cause harm, especially for people suffering from heart or respiratory diseases.
For nonsmoking adults, exposure raises the risk of heart disease by 25 percent to 30 percent and of cancer by 20 percent to 30 percent. It accounted for 46,000 premature deaths from heart disease and 3,000 premature deaths from cancer last year.
Secondhand smoke is a cause of sudden infant death syndrome, or SIDS, accounting for 430 deaths last year. The risk is elevated for children whose mothers were exposed during pregnancy and for children exposed in their homes after birth.
The impact on the health and development of children is more severe than previously thought. "Children are especially vulnerable to the poisons in secondhand smoke," Dr. Carmona said.
Efforts to minimize the effect of secondhand smoke by separating smokers and nonsmokers are ineffective, as are ventilation systems in a shared space.
While exposure has declined, as many as 60 percent of nonsmokers show biological evidence of encountering secondhand smoke, and 22 percent of children are exposed to secondhand smoke in their homes.
Studies conducted by the Centers for Disease Control show that great progress has been made in reducing exposure, Dr. Carmona said. The amount of cotinine -- the form nicotine takes after being metabolized -- in blood samples fell by 75 percent among adults, according to specimens taken from 1999 to 2002 that were compared with samples taken a decade earlier.
Cotinine is an anagram of nicotine. (The 8 letters in the word "nicotine" were rearranged to coin the word "cotinine.")
Let's take a look at the Surgeon Admiral's statements at face value. First that there is no such thing as a safe level of second hand smoke.
So, no one will be `safe' until every smoker on the planet quits AND every plant know to produce nicotine is eradicated to prevent `accidental' ignition...resulting in `second hand' smoke.
No safe level means exactly that, doesn't it? Someone smoking in China can affect your health no matter where you are. It's not like we have our own individual, impenetrable clean air supplies.
Non-smoking adults exposed to second hand smoke increase their `risk' of Heart Disease by 25-30 % and their `risk' of Cancer by 20-30%.
Beyond these statistical `guesses' (this is `risk and not `certainty') no links to solid research is provided in this article...
Second hand smoke is `a' cause of `sudden infant death syndrome', `a' as in one or one of many. There are also no links provided in this article connecting to solid research that backs up this assertion.
The impact on the health and development of children is more severe than previously thought. "Children are especially vulnerable to the poisons in secondhand smoke"
Again, another off the cuff remark with zero corroborating data.
Efforts to minimize the effect of secondhand smoke by separating smokers and nonsmokers are ineffective, as are ventilation systems in a shared space...
Geez, I wonder if the folks who build and sell `clean rooms' [particle free manufacturing environments] have heard about this...but this assertion only reinforces the `fact' that there is no `safe' place.
While exposure has declined, as many as 60 percent of nonsmokers show biological evidence of encountering secondhand smoke, and 22 percent of children are exposed to secondhand smoke in their homes...
Evidence...detectable `cotinine' levels. I could find zero data on the web as to how much cotinine in one's bloodstream is cause for concern but the Surgeon Admiral is telling us the only acceptable level is zero...
Here's a link to the original article
It's been my observation that our society suffers from too much opinion and not enough logic. When someone starts making life and death claims, I want to see the facts, not blind assertions!
You'd expect a report of this magnitude to be linked to reams of government research but the whole report has none!
Why bother with the facts...by now everybody knows smoking is bad for you and it seems being exposed to someone else's smoke is even worse...
Me, I like facts. I want to know who paid for the study. Then who and how many people participated in the study, studying one person or a particular family isn't exactly conclusive...where was the study conducted...coal mining country might `stilt' the results a tad.
Then they need to prove how much of what element is proven to cause adverse effects on your health.
Anyone remember the flap over saccharin? A government study concluded saccharin was carcinogenic...until it was revealed you had to consume the equivalent of 800 bottles of saccharinated beverage a DAY for it to be harmful...
Regardless of your `opinion' of cigarette smoking it's articles like this one, all assertion and no facts, that endangers society as a whole.
If you don't know the facts, what do you know?
Nothing.
Thanks for letting me inside your head,
Gegner