Hoping to Clear the Air Secondhand Smoke Studies Fuel Call for Public Ban

Tamara Sabine chooses restaurants based on food first and smoking policies second.

“We like to eat at restaurants that have ‘no-smoking’ policies or very distinct and separate smoking and nonsmoking sections,” she said. “I worry about the health effects of secondhand smoke on my family.”

A stay-at-home mom with two young children, Sabine is volunteering with the American Cancer Society to lobby for a proposed anti-smoking ordinance that will go before the Metro Council Wednesday.

Sabine is right to be concerned about the health effects of secondhand smoke, said Dr. Richard Burroughs, medical director of Baton Rouge General Medical Center’s Regional Cancer Center.

“There are four areas where there has been proven evidence of the detrimental health effects of exposure to secondhand smoke,” Burroughs said.

It is well documented that lung cancer rates are high for both smokers and nonsmokers exposed to secondhand smoke, he said. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has rated environmental tobacco smoke a Class A carcinogen and estimates that there are some 3,000 excess lung cancer deaths each year in nonsmokers exposed to secondhand smoke.

What is even scarier, however, is new evidence that shows a large number of excess heart disease deaths (35,000 deaths a year) in nonsmokers exposed to secondhand smoke, he said. “With lung cancer, you’re looking at a long latency period of maybe 30 years or more. With heart disease, the risk can be much more immediate.”

One study found that during a six-month comprehensive smoking ban in Helena, Mont., the number of heart attacks dropped by 40 percent. That finding prompted the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to advise individuals with heart disease to avoid indoor settings with exposure to secondhand smoke.

In addition, there are detrimental effects on fetuses and babies. There is a small, but measurable, lower birth weight recorded in babies born to women who smoke or are exposed to secondhand smoke, and an excess number of deaths related to sudden infant death syndrome in smoking households.

Pneumonia, bronchitis and asthma occur more commonly in children in smoking households as well, with higher rates of hospitalizations and deaths recorded, he said.

“If you add up the excess deaths in all four categories, it is quite significant,” Burroughs said. “Then, there’s morbidity (sickness), and economic and productivity losses. The other thing to consider is that these people (victims of secondhand smoke) are not volunteering for their exposure to tobacco.”

The proposed local ordinance would outlaw smoking in public buildings, office buildings and most businesses in East Baton Rouge Parish. Smokers would have to light up outside at least 25 feet from doorways. Exempt from the ban would be private homes, bars, casinos, restaurants that serve alcoholic beverages, tobacco stores, and hotel and motel rooms.

Other Louisiana cities that have passed similar anti-smoking measures under the Clean Indoor Air Act this year include Lafayette, Mandeville and Shreveport.

Paradoxically, Burroughs said he has some reservations about legislating smoking policies. Despite his concerns about the health effects of secondhand smoke and the fact that they are preventable, he said he would prefer to see businesses institute non-smoking policies on a voluntary basis.

Sabine, however, is strongly advocating for passage of the anti- smoking legislation. “I live in West Baton Rouge Parish, but I eat, shop, bank and go to church in Baton Rouge. This is an issue I feel strongly about and I’ve been asking people to get involved and call their councilmen and support this ordinance.

“I believe adults have the right to smoke. I have friends who smoke but they don’t do it in front of me. I think people can smoke in their homes or outdoors where it won’t affect where I eat or work or do business.”

ON THE INTERNET:

American Cancer Society: http://www.cancer.org American Heart Association: http://www.heart.org U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: http://www.cdc.gov National Cancer Institute: http://www.cancer.gov.