http://www.tobacco.org/newsfeed/org/sg.rss Latest top tobacco news headlines en-us http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/smokeexposure/ http://tobacco.org/news/333352.html Fact Sheets: Children are Hurt by Secondhand Smoke How to Protect Yourself and Your Loved Ones from Secondhand Smoke Secondhand Smoke Exposure in the Home 2006 Surgeon General's Report on The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke Secondhand Smoke: What It Means To You (PDF) - This booklet explains the report and how individuals can take action to improve their health. [11.6 MB] (En Español) [PDF 1.1 MB] Related Information on Secondhand Smoke Environmental Protection Agency (Smoke-free Homes and Cars Program) US Surgeon General Site Mon, 06 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://www.rollcall.com/news/Richard_Carmona_Announces_Arizona_Senate_Bid-210227-1.html?pos=opolhKaren%20Zielaski http://tobacco.org/news/330044.html Bush-era Surgeon General Richard Carmona announced today he is running in Arizona's open-seat Senate race, handing national Democrats a recruiting victory in a contest that could be competitive next year. "After talking with my family, my friends, and fellow Arizonans, I have decided to run for the United States Senate," he said in an email statement. According to published reports, among those who encouraged him to run is President Barack Obama. Roll Call AbbyLivingston@cqrollcall.com (Abby Livingston * Roll Call Staff ) Thu, 10 Nov 2011 05:00:00 GMT http://www.rollcall.com/news/Richard_Carmona_Announces_Arizona_Senate_Bid-210227-1.html?pos=opolh http://tobacco.org/news/328730.html Bush-era Surgeon General Richard Carmona announced today he is running in Arizona's open-seat Senate race, handing national Democrats a recruiting victory in a contest that could be competitive next year. "After talking with my family, my friends, and fellow Arizonans, I have decided to run for the United States Senate," he said in an email statement. According to published reports, among those who encouraged him to run is President Barack Obama. National Democrats have been touting Carmona to reporters in recent weeks. Roll Call AbbyLivingston@cqrollcall.com (Abby Livingston * Roll Call Staff ) Thu, 10 Nov 2011 05:00:00 GMT http://www.huffingtonpost.com/regina-m-benjamin-md-mba/new-graphic-health-warnin_b_881030.html http://tobacco.org/news/322012.html It's simple: Smoking kills. Sending this message to smokers -- or to those who are thinking of starting smoking -- just got a lot easier. Earlier today, the federal government released nine new graphic warning labels that will appear on everything from cigarette packs to in-store tobacco displays. Stark images and bold messaging will now graphically illustrate -- on every ad and every pack of cigarettes -- the painful and deadly reality of tobacco use. A diseased lung. A baby surrounded by secondhand smoke. A man who needs an oxygen mask to breathe. Huffington Post Tue, 21 Jun 2011 04:00:00 GMT http://hamptonroads.com/2011/04/war-established-science-and-fact http://tobacco.org/news/318503.html American families are filled with people alive today because they quit smoking after the U.S. surgeon general warned that cigarettes cause lung cancer. My grandfather, rather proudly, gave up the things after Surgeon General Leroy Burney officially made the connection back in the 1950s. . . . It took decades and all kinds of battles and intrigue, but the science eventually proved persuasive. A grave and self-inflicted threat to American health was shown as it is, and people made smart decisions. In many ways, it was a huge public health success, albeit one that still isn't complete. It's also one that might not happen today. . . . If a surgeon general (quick, name her) today were to issue such a report, its findings wouldn't be heard over the immediate counterarguments presented by affected industries, their lobbyists on K Street, their fake grassroots organizations and their shadowy nonprofits built with secret billionaire cash. Partly that's because the media is both more credulous and less skeptical than ever before (every story has two sides, no matter how ridiculous one might be). It's also more brazenly partisan while simultaneously arguing that it isn't. Online, for the most part, there isn't even the pretense of fairness. Perhaps the most obvious and visible and well-financed of these modern countercampaigns has been run by Big Oil against anti-pollution scientists, but there are similar - if far smaller - confusions aimed at such mundane things as vaccinations, fluoridation and even smoking. That resulting chaos is, of course, good for muddying the waters of any complex issue, for making the obvious and conclusive seem less so. Norfolk Virginian-Pilot donald.luzzatto@pilotonline.com (Donald Luzzatto) Fri, 15 Apr 2011 04:00:00 GMT http://www.dotmed.com/news/story/15634/ http://tobacco.org/news/317771.html President Richard Nixon didn’t think cigarettes were anything to joke about when he signed the Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act into law on April 1, 1970. Warnings on cigarette packages had started appearing in 1965 following the 1964 report, “Smoking and Health: Report of the Advisory Committee to the Surgeon General of the United States.” The report, released on a Saturday to minimize impact on the stock market and to maximize the coverage by the press in Sunday’s edition, offered one of the first official damning pieces of evidence against big tobacco. . . . What’s common knowledge today was big news at the time, when cigarette advertising included doctor endorsements, pictures of babies and even Santa Claus. Generally, the public already had an inkling of the problems smoking caused, but there was still plenty of doubt as everyone waited to hear from the country’s leaders. The act made it illegal for cigarette advertisements to be aired on American radio or television. It also carried an amendment to the 1965 Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act, to make the warnings on cigarette packaging in the name of the Surgeon General, providing the well-known warning, "The Surgeon General Has Determined that Cigarette Smoking Is Dangerous to Your Health." Beginning in 1984, the warnings mentioned specific hazards . . . As evidence mounts regarding the duplicity of tobacco executives and their knowledge of the hazards of smoking, concessions like the compromise allowing broadcasters to air commercials during New Year’s Day’s college football games on January 2, 1971, will be as rare as the individual who doesn’t know someone adversely affected by tobacco. DOTmed.com Mon, 04 Apr 2011 04:00:00 GMT http://www.news-leader.com/article/20110327/OPINIONS01/103270318/1090/NEWS07 http://tobacco.org/news/317284.html The ban will level the playing field for restaurants and bars, which is important to fostering competition. And the evidence suggests that businesses in other cities with such bans do just fine, if not better, after the law is enacted. The proposed ordinance would replace the city's existing smoking regulations, which are riddled with exemptions and result in unequal playing rules. The proposal also would ban smoking in some outside areas such as playgrounds and within five feet of building entrances and windows. Opponents have attempted to downplay the health risks of secondhand smoke, although even Dr. John Lilly, a spokesman for Live Free Springfield, acknowledged in an interview he was "not going to say it doesn't cause cancer." He just says they haven't proven it. Surgeons general for 25 years have been saying just the opposite. For instance, Vice Admiral Richard H. Carmona, surgeon general under President George W. Bush, reported in 2006 that nonsmokers exposed to secondhand smoke are at risk of inhaling more than 50 carcinogens and at least 250 chemicals known to be toxic or carcinogenic. Springfield News-Leader Sun, 27 Mar 2011 04:00:00 GMT http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2011/mar/14/letters-government-helps-not-nanny-state/ http://tobacco.org/news/316624.html The Feb. 24 letter, “Government’s ‘mark of the beast,’” is an absurd argument involving government actions. I want to describe my own experience with government as an example of how it can help people without creating a “nanny state.” Decades ago, in the mid-’50s, I graduated from nursing school and took up smoking the same year. A few years later, the occasional article would appear in the newspaper about research reports that smoking was bad for your health and linked to lung cancer. As a staff nurse at the time, I had taken care of patients with heart disease and cancer, and I knew these were very bad conditions that caused a lot of pain and suffering as well as deaths. They were illnesses that anyone would want to avoid. Nevertheless, at the time I didn’t know how much of a risk smoking created, as I did not have sufficient knowledge or sophistication to evaluate these research reports. Then, in the early ’60s, the Surgeon General’s report on smoking was issued, addressing the health risks of smoking. I did not want to put my own health unnecessarily at risk. It must have been a year or more that I mulled this over, trying to get to the point where I could accept not smoking. . . . I knew that I could trust the advice of the Surgeon General because he was part of a government that I could trust. The Surgeon General then and now is not on the “side” of any one group; he/she services of all citizens. This is but one example of how important government is and can be, if the letter writer needs persuading. Knoxville News-Sentinel Mon, 14 Mar 2011 04:00:00 GMT http://www.stltoday.com/lifestyles/health-med-fit/fitness/article_4d4749ae-f800-5f7c-bb8a-b751923b256f.html http://tobacco.org/news/313496.html The surgeon general's report notes that cigarette smoke contains more than 7,000 chemicals, many of which are toxic and cancer-causing. Lung cancer is not the only cancer it can cause. It can cause cancers throughout the body. A few examples include mouth, larynx, kidney and bladder cancer. There is also evidence that pancreatic cancer could be linked to tobacco smoke exposure. Smoking can interfere with your body's ability to fight cancer, even those not related to tobacco. In some cases, it can even help tumors grow. The chemicals in cigarette smoke also lead to serious respiratory diseases including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Women experience additional health consequences related to tobacco smoke exposure. It can cause irregular periods, early menopause, osteoporosis and infertility. The surgeon general says women who smoke during pregnancy are at higher risk for ectopic pregnancy, low birth weight and miscarriage. Simply put, if you smoke during pregnancy, your baby is smoking, too. If your partner smokes, you should know that chemicals in tobacco smoke damage the DNA in sperm, which may also lead to decreased fertility and birth defects. According to the surgeon general, the best choice for your health is never to smoke, and if you do smoke, quit. Make sure you are not exposed to secondhand smoke, either. St. Louis Post-Dispatch Wed, 12 Jan 2011 05:00:00 GMT http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/us-census-bureau-daily-feature-for-january-11-113253904.html http://tobacco.org/news/313436.html Profile America -- Tuesday, January 11th. A widely accepted habit of many generations of Americans came under official attack on this day in 1964. That's when Surgeon General Luther Terry issued the first government report that smoking may be dangerous to health. Over the years since, further warnings have dealt with the effects of smoking on rates of lung cancer, heart disease and low birth weight for babies. At the same time, smoking has been banned from an increasing number of public places. PR Newswire Tue, 11 Jan 2011 05:00:00 GMT http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-smoking-20110101,0,3942582.story http://tobacco.org/news/313013.html Other states should be adopting California-style rules that restrict smoking to small, private areas. California itself is about to release new anti-smoking ads, including some in Spanish and various Asian languages. That might not be the most efficient use of its advertising dollars, though. Statistics show that Latino and Asian residents are considerably less likely to smoke than other groups. The population that most needs the state's attention is African Americans, 14.2% of whom smoke. Tobacco companies have gone to great lengths to market to black Americans; governments should be fighting back even harder. It can't hurt that President Obama has been trying to quit smoking. That's one arena in which we're glad to have a First Quitter. Los Angeles Times Sat, 01 Jan 2011 05:00:00 GMT http://www.shreveporttimes.com/article/20101231/OPINION03/12310344/Jerry-McLarty-Editorial-about-need-for-smoking-bans-was-misleading http://tobacco.org/news/312977.html I take issue with the Dec. 17 editorial "No need for more smoking bans." In my opinion, as a health professional, the editorial was misleading. It expressed the opinion that it is a good thing the proposed law banning smoking in casinos was overturned; doubt was raised about the conclusions of a new comprehensive report on how tobacco smoke causes disease; the plight of casino workers involuntarily exposed to tobacco smoke on their jobs was trivialized; and, finally, the old tobacco industry line that better ventilation would solve the problem was reintroduced. The editorial failed to mention that existing smoking policies will bring better health and economic benefits to Louisiana. This has been demonstrated in other states throughout the country. The existing laws are good, but there are still some important gaps that need to be closed. . . . The surgeon general's report identified many harms from smoking, not just cardiovascular disease, the one area criticized by the blogger. . . . Finally, the contention that better ventilation would solve the exposure issue is a favorite diversionary argument of the tobacco industry. It sounds rational, but numerous studies have proved it just doesn't work well enough to protect people from second-hand tobacco smoke. Louisiana consistently is rated worst in the nation when it comes to health of its citizens. How anyone could argue that we don't need to strengthen our smoking policies to protect a large segment of the state's working population is beyond me. Shreveport Times Fri, 31 Dec 2010 05:00:00 GMT http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2010/dec/31/letter5/ http://tobacco.org/news/312976.html This time of year, when people are going to parties and sometimes imbibing a little more than normal, a friend may admit to being a "social smoker" who smokes the "occasional" cigarette, and not the least bit worried about the possible health consequences. They should be. Earlier this month, the U.S. Surgeon General released another report (the 30th since 1964) on the dangers of smoking -- even smoking one cigarette -- and the lethal poison that is tobacco smoke. Memphis Commercial Appeal Fri, 31 Dec 2010 05:00:00 GMT http://tobaccoanalysis.blogspot.com/2010/12/finalists-for-2010-lie-of-year-award.html http://tobacco.org/news/312901.html The Finalists 1. Free & Clear The Lie: "Using an integrated mix of medication support, phone-based cognitive behavioral coaching and web-based learning and support tools the Quit For Life Program produces an average quit rate of 45% for employers, making it 9 times more effective than quitting “cold turkey.”" . . . 2. United States Surgeon General's Office The Lie: (1) "Even brief exposure to secondhand smoke can cause cardiovascular disease and could trigger acute cardiac events, such as heart attack."; (2) "Inhaling even the smallest amount of tobacco smoke can also damage your DNA, which can lead to cancer." . . . 3. Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights The Lie: (1) "there are virtually no health disparities between active and passive smoking."; (2) "The risks of heart disease associated with secondhand smoke are twice what were previously thought and are virtually indistinguishable from those associated with active smoking."; (3) "Just thirty minutes of exposure to secondhand smoke can cause heart damage similar to that of habitual smokers." . . . 4. Kentucky Center for Smoke-Free Policy, University of Kentucky College of Nursing The Lie: "Even brief exposure to secondhand smoke can trigger a heart attack. ... 5. Florida Department of Health The Lie: "Non-smokers exposed to secondhand smoke for just 30 minutes experience hardening of the arteries." . . . with hardening of the arteries. 6. Maricopa County Department of Public Health The Lie: "Nonsmokers exposed to secondhand smoke for just 30 minutes experience hardening of the arteries." . . . 7. Breathe California of Sacramento-Emigrant Trails The Lie: "Smoking kills about 340 young people a day." . . . 8. FDA Center for Tobacco Products The Lie: "research has found that children are especially attracted to and begin using tobacco products very early because of all kinds of pressures and motivations, including access to cigarettes that have candy-like characterizing flavors, such as mint, chocolate, cinnamon, coconut, and strawberry." . . . 9. FDA and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services The Lie: "Almost 90 percent of adult smokers start smoking as teenagers. These flavored cigarettes are a gateway for many children and young adults to become regular smokers."; "Flavored cigarettes attract and allure kids into lifetime addiction. FDA's ban on these cigarettes will break that cycle for the more than 3,600 young people who start smoking daily." . . . 10. American Cancer Society The Lie: "The American Cancer Society, along with the broader public health community, fought the tobacco industry for more than a decade to get this historic legislation passed." The Rest of the Story-Tobacco Analasys and Commentary Fri, 24 Dec 2010 05:00:00 GMT http://tobaccoanalysis.blogspot.com/2010/12/winner-of-2010-tobacco-control-lie-of.html http://tobacco.org/news/312900.html The Surgeon General's office takes the award for disseminating widely throughout the media the blatant lie that even brief exposure to secondhand smoke can cause cardiovascular disease and that inhaling even the smallest amount of tobacco smoke causes cancer. Although all ten contestants, and the eight quarterfinalists, were all outstanding entries in that they all represented blatant lies, the clear sentiment of Rest of the Story readers was that the Surgeon General's office deserves the award because of the sheer magnitude of the impact of this lie. . . . Second place goes to Free & Clear, for making the fraudulent claim that its smoking cessation program has a 45% six-month success rate, when its own research found only a 21% success rate using intention-to-treat analysis. The rationale for the choice of Free & Clear as the runner-up for the 2010 Tobacco Control Lie of the Year Award is presented by John Polito, who wrote: "Intentionally advertising a 17% quitting rate as 45% is a massive distortion that is helping Free & Clear make millions. The Rest of the Story-Tobacco Analasys and Commentary Tue, 28 Dec 2010 05:00:00 GMT