Does environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) seriously threaten the general public’s health? The June 2 Straight Dope claimed this threat is “unproven at best.” To your credit, you did concede that this smoke is a “danger to vulnerable folk such as asthmatics, children, and the elderly” and is “harmful, broadly speaking.” You also found “impressive” the smoking opponents’ list of official pronouncements and studies, 63 of which found “some evidence of harm from ETS.”
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And what about the studies linking secondhand smoke to heart disease, hardening of the arteries, and stroke? A study of 32,000 nurses by the Harvard School of Public Health and Harvard Medical School found a 91 percent greater risk of heart disease for those regularly exposed to other people’s smoke. According to the study’s main author, “there may be up to 50,000 Americans dying of heart attacks from passive smoking each year.” –Michael Brennan, Chicago
You ask “why the evidence in these [67] studies still left you suspecting the tobacco industry ‘may be right’ in denying any link between passive smoking and lung cancer.” Let’s not mix apples and oranges, bud. The 106 studies covered an assortment of ailments; only 27 had to do with lung cancer.
Art accompanying story in printed newspaper (not available in this archive): illustration/Slug Signorino.
