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• New Report Says Secondhand Smoke Costs Minnesota $215.7 Million Annually 

According to a new study, Health Care Costs and Secondhand Smoke, $215.7 million is spent each year in Minnesota to treat health conditions caused by exposure to secondhand smoke. Dr. Marc Manley of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota (Blue Cross) will present the report findings to the Minnesota House Commerce and Labor Committee during its 4 p.m. hearing today on the Freedom to Breathe legislation. "This study is based on the 2006 U.S. Surgeon General's report on secondhand smoke and also on Minnesota-specific data, so it provides the first-ever look at the health care costs related to secondhand smoke in Minnesota," said Hugh Waters, Ph.D., lead researcher for this study and health economist at Johns Hopkins University.

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