UNITED STATES: Second-hand smoke can kill, says report
published: Wednesday | June 28, 2006

WASHINGTON (Reuters):

SECOND-HAND smoke clearly kills people and the only way to control it is to ban all smoking in workplaces, the United States Surgeon-General said yesterday in a report that puts the Bush administration on the side of smoking restrictions.

The report by Surgeon-General Richard Carmona, which echoed the forcefulness of a 1964 Surgeon General's report that paved the way for mandatory cigarette warnings and advertising restrictions, detailed the effects of passive smoking and said no one should be forced to inhale someone else's smoke.

"The scientific evidence is now indisputable: second-hand smoke is not a mere annoyance," Carmona said at a news conference. "It is a serious health hazard that can lead to disease and premature death in children and non-smoking adults."