Secondhand Smoke Fact Sheet

• There are over 50 chemicals in secondhand smoke that have been identified as hazardous by federal agencies. (Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, February, 1997. Health Effects of Exposure to Environmental Tobacco Smoke.)

• Secondhand smoke has been classified by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a Group A carcinogen . This classification is reserved for chemicals or compounds which have been shown to cause cancer in humans. ( United States Environmental Protection Agency, January, 1993. Respiratory Effects of Passive Smoking.)

• Secondhand smoke is associated with several serious health effects including retarded fetal growth, asthma, lower respiratory infections, lung and nasal cancer, and heart disease. (Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, February, 1997. Health Effects of Exposure to Environmental Tobacco Smoke.)

• 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. (Siegel, Michael. July 28, 1993 . Involuntary Smoking in the Restaurant Workplace: A Review of Employee Exposure and Health. JAMA 270 (4): 490-93.)

• Each year environmental tobacco smoke kills approximately 53,000 Americans, the same number of Americans killed in the Vietnam War. (Action on Smoking and Health, Special Report, Involuntary Smoking: The Factual Basis for Action, 1993.)

• Waiters and waitresses have almost twice the risk of lung cancer due to involuntary exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS). (Siegel, Michael. July 28, 1993 . Involuntary Smoking in the Restaurant Workplace: A Review of Employee Exposure and Health. JAMA 270 (4): 490-93.)

• Secondhand smoke exposure increases the risk of bronchitis and pneumonia in children. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that between 150,000 and 300,000 of these cases in infants and young children are attributable to exposure to secondhand smoke every year. Of these, between 7,500 and 15,000 will result in hospitalization. (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Respiratory Effects of Involuntary Smoking, 1993.)

• 17% of lung cancers among adult nonsmokers can be attributed to high levels of secondhand smoke during childhood and adolescence. (Janerich DT et al. September 6, 1990. Lung cancer and exposure to tobacco smoke in the household. New England Journal of Medicine, 323 (10): 632-36.)