Secondhand Smoke

Research

New evidence strengthens link between cigarette smoke exposure and poor infant health
Two studies recently published in The Journal of Pediatrics investigate the physical and behavioral effects of pre- and postnatal secondhand smoke exposure. The study of prenatal smoke exposure by Shaw and colleagues found a positive correlation between maternal blood cotinine (a biomarker of nicotine exposure) levels, and birth defects in newborn children. Women who smoked were 2.5 times more likely to have babies with oral clefts than nonsmokers, and the data showed a possible association between smoking and neural tube birth defects. The second study by Stroud and colleagues used questionnaires and cotinine tests to gauge newborns’ cigarette smoke exposure. Babies who had been exposed to cigarette smoke were more irritable and harder to soothe than babies who were not exposed to smoke. Click here to read a summary of the findings. Click here to access the abstract of the article on birth defects related to maternal smoking.

Smoking ban tied to a gain in lives (MA)
Since smokefree laws were first implemented in Massachusetts four years ago, nearly 600 fewer state residents have died of heart attacks each year, according to a report from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and the Harvard School of Public Health. The amount of heart attack deaths had already been declining slightly, but the state began to see a significant decline in 2003 when Boston and its suburbs implemented local smokefree laws. This decline became more dramatic in mid-2004 when the rest of the state began enforcing the smokefree law. The first cities to implement smokefree laws saw earlier declines in heart attack deaths, but since 2006, the rest of the state has experienced similar benefits. According to Dr. Michael Siegel, a tobacco control expert from the Boston University School of Public Health who has previously expressed skepticism regarding the evidence for smokefree laws, this research provides evidence strong enough to conclude that the decrease in heart attack deaths is not simply due to improvements in medical care. In fact, the findings may be used in support of a proposal currently under consideration to tighten smokefree laws in Boston. Click here to read more.

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Reports

Workplaces preparing for Jan. 1 anti-smoking law (OR)
On January 1, a new smokefree law will take effect statewide in Oregon to protect against secondhand smoke in bars, bingo halls, bowling alleys, and virtually all workplaces. This law will expand upon a 2002 partial smoking ban that prohibited smoking only in some workplaces. According to a representative from the State Department of Health, antismoking policies have made business sense for workplaces that have been early adopters of the smoking ban, since nonsmokers and even some smokers appreciate smoke-free areas. Click here for more information.

More hotels go completely smoke-free (US)  
With the increased concerns about the health effects of secondhand smoke, more hotels in the United States are going smoke-free. Axccording to AAA,there are more than 8,300 smoke-free lodgings in the USA  nearly 6,000 more than in 2005, To access a chart of smoke-free hotels click here.  To read more about the trend of hotels going smoke-free, click here.

ADA rule for Lottery takes effect in January (WV)  
This month, West Virginia has regulated that all video lottery machines will have to be in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act beginning next year. The 1,614 bars, clubs and fraternal organizations around the state that operate limited video lottery machines will have to make adjustments according to the new regulation. West Virginia University researchers note: "The ADA, which took effect in 1992, was adopted to provide a comprehensive national mandate to eliminate discrimination against people with disabilities. As it relates to tobacco use, "The ADA may be used to protect people with asthma, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, lung disease, women who are pregnant, youth of all ages, and others whose daily activities are substantially limited by secondhand smoke exposure in private and public work places and in other places of public accommodation." To read more click here.

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International

Smokers are banned from fostering (UK)
Redbridge, a borough in northeast London, has established a new local policy that will prohibit smokers from taking in foster children, except in “exceptional circumstances.” The law was passed in view of scientific evidence of the harmful effects of secondhand smoke on young children’s respiratory and immune systems. Current foster parents who are smokers will be given cessation help, and those who apply to be foster caregivers will be informed early on in the process that smokers are highly unlikely to be approved as caregivers. The Fostering Network, a major UK charity organization devoted to improving fostering, recognizes the benefits of providing smoke-free homes to foster children; however, the organization has expressed concerns about a blanket prohibition of fostering for smokers, since children may be denied from otherwise good homes because of a prospective guardian’s smoking status. Click here to learn more.

WHO praises complete smoking ban at all UN headquarters
The World Health Organization on Thursday praised a decision to completely ban smoking and sale of cigarettes inside UN headquarters in New York as well as in other cities. A smoking ban had been in place, but government delegates attending UN meetings at headquarters in New York, Geneva and Vienna, the three major UN buildings, usually ignore the ban, citing their rights as government officials. To read more about this ban, click here.

Greece’s Parliament approves ban on public smoking (Greece)
Greece, which is reportedly in top five of the heaviest smokers in the European Union and has one of the highest rates of smoking in the world, made the move at the same time that a Croatian ban on smoking in public places came into effect. Croatia, however, has allowed a six-month grace period for restaurants and bars to obey the legislation, while hospitals and government institutions are required to comply immediately. The Greek legislation will also ban the sale of tobacco products to people under 18. Those who sell tobacco products or liquor to under-18s will face fines of up to 20 000 euro. Smoking will be banned in workplaces but designated smoking areas may be set aside. Previously, Greece banned smoking in hospitals, offices and taxis and legislated separate smoking and non-smoking areas in restaurants and bars, but media reports said that these laws were widely ignored. Click here to read more about the ban

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