Don't patronize places where people are smoking..

November 25, 2008 - Do you care about your health?? Do you want the best for your children??

Mayo Clinic Dr. Paul Scanlon specializes in lung diseases related to smoking. He says smoking and secondhand smoke (SHS, passive, side stream, involuntary) increase your risk of many illnesses including lung cancer, emphysema and heart attack. Heart attack is an issue because exposure to cigarette smoke increases the tendency for blood to clot. Acute heart attacks happen when blood clots in the coronary arteries. Smoking bans are thought to help decrease your risk of heart attack from exposure to cigarette smoke.

A study out of the University of California looked at the heart attack rates in several cities across the us, Canada and Europe where smoking bans are in effect. Pueblo Colorado, Helena Montana, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Canada to name a few. Results showed that in those cities, heart attack rates dropped by 19%. That's almost one out of five people who might have had a heart attack didn't.

David Sutton, a spokesman for Philip Morris USA said the company believes the public "should be guided by the conclusions of public health officials regarding the health effects of secondhand smoke" and "particular care should be exercised where children are concerned." Bill Phelps, a spokesman for the nation's largest cigarette maker, Philip Morris USA, said the company's website points out that public health officials have shown that secondhand smoke causes heart disease in nonsmokers. Phelps: "We agree that people should be able to avoid being around secondhand smoke, particularly in places where they must go."

Kids exposed to smoke are at higher risk of disease (possibly lifelong) since they breath in more air by weight than adults. World Asthma Awareness Day..".

The Surgeon General has concluded that no risk-free level of SHS exposure exists; the only way to fully protect nonsmokers is to completely eliminate smoking in indoor spaces.

Reference:
Smoking Bans - Do they work? by KSPR News, 11/24/2008.

A couple related news briefs: Massachusettes - Smoking ban drop in fatal heart attacks.. and Banning smoking a public health issue not property rights...

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