With all the years worth of scientific studies confirming the dangers of smoking, few people question the fact that cigarette smoke is harmful to the smoker. But cigarette smoke is also harmful to the health of the people around the smoker in their environment.

• Lung cancer (3,000 nonsmokers die each year)
  
  
• Heart disease (35,000 deaths each year)
  
  
• Lung & bronchial infections (affecting 250,000 children each year)
  
  
• Emphysema
  
  
• Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)
  
  
• Eye irritation
  
  
• Weakened sense of smell
  
  
• Hearing loss
  
  
• Vision problems
  
  
• Increased headaches
  
  
• Asthma
  
  
• Ear infection

• Each year in North Carolina, approximately 81 people die due to lung cancer and between 945 and 1674 die due to coronary heart disease. (EPA, 1993)
  
  
• Secondhand cigarette smoke is a Class A carcinogen, comparable to potent cancer causing agents such as benzene, asbestos, arsenic, and vinyl chloride. (EPA, 1993)
  
  
• People who are routinely exposed to large amounts of secondhand smoke, such as workers in bars and restaurants, can see their risk of lung cancer triple. (International Journal of Cancer, 2001)
  
  
• A new 2004 advisory statement from the CDC warns that anyone suffering from heart disease should avoid any exposure to secondhand smoke, because of the increased risk of a heart attack. (British Medical Journal, 2004)
  
  
• Exposure to secondhand smoke can increase the risk of coronary heart disease by 50-60%, twice the previous estimated risk. (British Medical Journal, 2004)
  
  
• Nonsmokers exposed to secondhand smoke are exposed to about 4,000 chemical compounds, including formaldehyde, cyanide, ammonia, nicotine, carbon monoxide, and cancer-causing agents such as benzene, asbestos, and N-nitrosamines. (CDC, 1996)
  
  
• According to a 1992 EPA report, more people die each year from secondhand smoke than all other regulated occupational substances combined.
  
  
• According to the 1986 Surgeon General's report, exposure to secondhand smoke can cause lung cancer - as evidence, nonsmoking spouses of heavy smokers have nearly twice the risk of developing lung cancer.
  
  
• According to a 1997 report by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), not only is secondhand smoke responsible for 3,000 lung cancer deaths every year, but also for between 35,000 to 62,000 deaths associated with ischemic heart disease.
  
• That NCI report also determined that lifelong nonsmokers living with smokers have, on average, a 24% higher chance of contracting lung cancer than those living with nonsmokers, and those exposed to the heaviest smokers for the longest time have the highest risks.
  
  
• Nonsmokers exposed to secondhand smoke only at work have been found to have significantly higher levels of a nicotine metabolite in their blood than nonsmokers who aren't exposed to secondhand smoke at work.
  
  
• The Surgeon General has determined that simple separation of smokers and nonsmokers within the same airspace may reduce but does not eliminate exposure of nonsmokers to secondhand smoke. (CDC, 1996)
  
  
• The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has stated that secondhand smoke poses an increased risk of lung cancer and heart disease to people exposed at work, and has recommended that exposure be reduced to the lowest feasible level, and that employers should use all available preventive measures to minimize occupational exposure.(CDC, 1996)
  
  
• A 2001 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association concluded that exposure to secondhand smoke "substantially reduced" coronary circulation in healthy nonsmokers, providing "direct evidence" that exposure to secondhand smoke causes coronary circulatory dysfunction in nonsmokers.
  
  
• A 2001 study in The Lancet found that exposure to secondhand smoke was significantly associated with nighttime chest tightness and breathlessness after physical activity, and that workplace exposure to secondhand smoke was significantly associated with all types of respiratory symptoms and current asthma.

"But," you may ask, "what about the studies I've seen that question the harmfulness of secondhand smoke?" a 1998 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association about why different articles on secondhand smoke reach different conclusions found that the single predicting factor of whether an article would conclude secondhand smoke was not hazardous was whether the author had received funding from the tobacco industry. Studies that dispute the harmfulness of secondhand smoke are usually found to be funded by tobacco companies!

An advantage of smoke-free air ordinances for employers is that adopting a smoke-free workplace will encourage employees to quit smoking, thereby not only greatly reducing their chances of suffering from a smoking-related illness in the future, but also reducing the chances their nonsmoking coworkers will suffer from illnesses related to secondhand smoke. Eliminating secondhand smoke from the workplace and decreasing smoking by employees can reduce health care costs and increase years of productive life. These two factors alone will positively affect your company's bottom line and help your employees live full and productive lives!