Collateral damage

By Keith Purtell
Phoenix Staff Writer

May 05, 2008 06:18 pm

— When medical reports about the dangers of cigarettes came out in the 1960s, many smokers became concerned about their health.
Then, non-smokers began to object to secondhand tobacco smoke they were breathing when around smokers.
As the government stepped in with new laws about smoking, it raised questions about the rights of smokers versus the rights of non-smokers.
Judy Long, a paralegal who is trying to quit but still smokes, said she has seen increasing effects on her lifestyle and that of other smokers.
“You’re very limited in where you can smoke,” she said. “Most organizations do not provide a place, so you have to go outside to smoke, regardless of rain, snow or sleet. I started smoking due to stress. In the workplace, if you’re under a lot of stress, you are going to smoke. Especially if you’re around other smokers.”
Long said she is very conscious of the well-being and feelings of other people. She said she’ll sometimes change her own smoking pattern without being asked, and sometimes ask others if they mind if she lights up.
“I don’t like to smoke around young people at all; I go outside,” she said. “If I’m in my car and I want to smoke, I smoke. If I’m in a car with non-smokers, I ask them. You have to respect other people’s position. More people are highly allergic to smoke.”
According to Martha Alford, educator at Muskogee County Health Department, secondhand smoke is a complex mixture of gases and particles than includes smoke from the burning cigarette, cigar, or pipe tip. At least 250 toxic chemicals are part of secondhand smoke and more than 50 are known to cause cancer.
Nonsmokers exposed to secondhand smoke at home or work increase their heart disease risk by 25-30 percent and lung cancer risk by 20-30 percent.
Children are especially at risk, and second smoke can cause Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
Jane Jones, Program Coordinator for Muskogee Against Tobacco, said changing laws mean fewer people are exposed to secondhand smoke.
“More people are protected now in the workplace, except for wait staff in restaurants that have a smoking area,” she said. “The issue now is homes and cars.”
Jones said private spaces are an issue because of those who are more vulnerable to toxic smoke.
“With children especially that’s a problem, because of the size of their lungs, and the development stage when they are growing so rapidly,” she said. “Secondhand smoke can cause respiratory infections and ear infections, and it can cause or aggravate asthma.”
Because behavior in private is often protected, health advocates like Jones look for alternative ways to bring about change.
“We’re working now to raise awareness and encourage people look at risks for children, including heart disease,” she said. “We would like to raise people’s awareness until they decide to quit. Secondhand smoke is more than a nuisance; it’s a serious health issue.”
There was a brief public debate about whether secondhand smoke is hazardous, after Judge William Osteen of the Middle District of North Carolina Federal Court in 1998 ruled against an Environmental Protection Agency report.
Critics pointed out that Osteen worked in 1974 as an industry lobbyist for tobacco growers while a private attorney.
The EPA appealed the decision to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, which unanimously dismissed Osteen’s judgment in 2002.
Reach Keith Purtell at 684-2925.

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