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Study: Passive smoke an even greater risk
May 19, 1997
Web posted at: 10:37 p.m. EDT (0237 GMT)From Correspondent Linda Ciampa
DALLAS (CNN) -- New research provides some of the strongest evidence yet that constant exposure to passive smoke nearly doubles the risk of heart attack and death in non-smokers.
The study, published in this week's American Heart Association's journal Circulation, finds that non-smoking women who were regularly exposed to passive smoke either in their workplaces or in their homes had a 91 percent higher risk of heart attack or death than those who were not subjected to smoke.
For those who had only occasional exposure to smoke, the increase was 58 percent, the study concludes.
The 10-year investigation of more than 32,000 women found a higher level of risk from passive smoking than has been seen before.
A study published last August found non-smoking spouses of smokers had about a 20 percent higher death rate from heart disease than non-smokers living with spouses who did not smoke.
"The 4,000 chemicals in tobacco smoke just about do everything that we know that is harmful to the heart," Dr. Ichiro Kawachi of the Harvard School of Public Health said. "It will damage the lining of the arteries, increase the stickiness of your blood, therefore increasing the chances that you will develop clotting and develop a heart attack."
The AHA estimates that from 37,000 to 40,000 people die from heart and blood vessel disease caused by other people's smoke each year.
The new research was conducted between 1982 and 1992. Since then laws have been passed in many places forcing people to smoke outside some public buildings.
But many bars and restaurants still allow smoking, and millions of Americans smoke.
"Thirty percent of adults still smoke -- men and women are equal," said Dr. Virgil Brown of Emory University. "That 30 percent should quit; they're exposing their loved ones or fellow workers to second-hand smoke. They are certainly not being good family members or members of the community."
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Related sites:
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- American Heart Association
- American Cancer Society Smokeout Page
- The Master Anti-Smoking Page
- FDA
- RJR Nabisco Shareholder--Direct - R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company information
- Brooke Group, Ltd. Home Page - Brooke Group is a holding company which owns Liggett Group Inc.
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