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General Tobacco Truths Youth Tobacco Truths Secondhand Smoke Truths INTEGRIS Lifespan - Tobacco Truths - Secondhand Smoke Secondhand smoke is a mixture of the smoke exhaled by smokers and the smoke from the burning end of a cigarette, cigar or pipe. Cigarettes have (accurately) been called "little toxic waste dumps on fire." Truth #1: The 4,000 components of secondhand smoke include at least 250 harmful substances. There is no safe level of smoke from cigarettes. Carcinogens include: benzene, hydrazine, vinyl chloride, aromatic amines, arsenic, cadmium, chromium and nickel. Eye/respiratory irritants and systemic poisons include: ammonia, acrolein, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, hydrogen cyanide, nicotine, nitrogen oxides, phenol and sulfur dioxide. Sources: JOURNAL Oklahoma State Medical Association, March 2002 Truth #2: Secondhand smoke is the 4th highest cause of preventable deaths. It ranks just below smoking, obesity and alcohol. It causes heart disease, lung cancer, respiratory diseases and numerous other health problems. Source: Oklahoma State Department of Health Truth #3: For every 8 smokers who die, 1 nonsmoker dies from secondhand smoke. Source: JOURNAL Oklahoma State Medical Association, March 2002 Truth #4: Secondhand smoke kills an estimated 750 Oklahomans a year. Source: JOURNAL Oklahoma State Medical Association, March 2002 Truth #5: Waiters and waitresses are at highest risk for exposure to secondhand smoke in the workplace. Colleen Farris, a Tulsa waitress for 20 years who has never smoked, had a chest x-ray that led her doctor to believe she was a smoker. She had spots on her lung and a nicotine level 2.5 higher than nonsmokers working in smoke-free environments. Source: Tulsa City-County Public Health, Oklahoma State University. Truth #6: Secondhand smoke kills just as many Americans as automobile accidents. Source: Oklahoma State Department of Health Truth #7: Secondhand smoke raises the risk of heart disease by 30%. In 1992, the American Heart Association concluded that the risk of death from heart disease has increased by about 30% among those exposed to secondhand smoke at home and could be much higher in those exposed at the workplace. There is evidence that exposure of nonsmokers to secondhand smoke breaks down the blood's antioxidant defenses and impairs arterial walls. Source: JAMA/The Journal of the American Heart Association, 7-25-01 Truth #8: Secondhand smoke causes ear infections in children. Each year, Oklahoma children make at least 10,500 physician office visits for ear infections caused by secondhand smoke. Source: JAMA/The Journal of the American Heart Association, 7-25-01 Truth #9: 1,300 U.S. towns have passed ordinances restricting smoking in public places -- but none are in Oklahoma. Unlike most states, Oklahoma passed a law in 1987 that denies our towns and communities a local voice on smoking restrictions in public places. It's called the "preemption law"; it preempts local voice. Source: Oklahoma State Department of Health Truth #10: Oklahoma was one of the first and few states to outlaw a community's freedom to be smoke-free. The onerous "preemption clause" makes Oklahoma one of the "most restrictive" preemptive states in terms of taking away local rights to protect our citizens and children from tobacco. (The other two "most restrictive" are Pennsylvania and Tennessee — both among the top 10 U.S. tobacco producers. Oklahoma grows no tobacco.) Source: Oklahoma State Department of Health Truth #11: Delaware is the first state to REPEAL the preemption law. In 2002, Delaware set a hopeful example for Oklahoma to follow. Source: Oklahoma State Department of Health Truth #12: Texas now has 20+ towns restricting indoor smoking and 12 more on the way. Texas -- like most other states -- wisely avoided passage of the preemption law. Alvin Kerrville Arlington Lander Austin Lubbock Bryan New Braunsfels Carrolton Odessa College Station Plano Corpus Christi Robinson El Paso Schertz Fort Worth West Lake Hills Irving Wichita Falls Cities currently (Sept. '02) considering clean indoor air ordinances: Amarillo Beaumont Dallas Fredericksburg Longview Pasadena Round Rock San Antonio San Marcos Waco Source: Trust For A Smoke-Free Texas(tm), 6-24-02