Tobacco.org

ELLIS: The Secondhand Smoking Gun 

The bottom line of Helena's plummeting, then soaring, heart attack rate is painfully obvious: secondhand smoke kills. . . .

All of which make Mr. Giuliani's comments particularly ill informed. In addition, despite the dire economic predictions that preceded it, the smoking ban in New York City does not appear to have drastically depressed business. . . .

. . .

At a time when the city's budget is in tatters, smoking in public places also sets off an enormous domino effect in public-health spending by creating or worsening illnesses whose treatment costs are eventually shouldered by taxpayers. For all of these reasons, New Yorkers can't afford to be as easily defeated as the unfortunate citizens of Helena nor as easily manipulated by the tobacco lobby and the politicians who are in its pocket.

Jump to full article »