Nonsmokers Can Die From Second-Hand Smoke

Dec. 21, 1999
The American Cancer Society is urging people to protect themselves against second-hand smoke.

Did you know that second-hand smoke causes cancer? Did you know that nonsmokers can die from second-hand smoke.

As a new year approaches, the American Cancer Society (ACS) is urging people to protect themselves against second-hand smoke.

Second-hand smoke, also called environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), has been declared a human carcinogen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

In order to fulfill its mission to help save the lives of nonsmokers from cancer, the ACS strongly supports the 1999-2000 Florida Legislative Agenda, which includes state issues such as Florida Tobacco Control Programs and the Florida Clean Indoor Air Act.

According to the 1998 Center for Diease Control (CDC) report, about 692,720 Florida youth were exposed to second-hand smoke in the home in 1996.

According to the ACS research, second-hand smoke, which contains more than 4,000 chemical compounds, including carbon monoxide, affects the nation yearly by causing:

  • 3,000 deaths of nonsmoking adults from lung cancer,
  • 35,000 to 40,000 deaths from heart disease in nonsmokers; and
  • a 20 percent increase in this country's 2 to 5 million asthmatic children.

For more information on cancer prevention, visit the ACS Web Site at www.cancer.org

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