SPOTLIGHT: Surgeon General warns on secondhand smoke risks

The Surgeon General delivered a long-awaited report which concludes that secondhand smoke continues to kill thousands of Americans every year, despite smoking bans and public education efforts designed to warn tobacco users of the risks associated with secondhand smoke. The report concludes that exposure to tobacco smoke increases nonsmokers' risk of heart disease and cancer by up to 30 percent. It also stresses that creating nonsmoking sections is not "an effective technique" of protecting the health of nonsmokers. Surgeon General Richard Cremona said the findings show that the evidence is "indisputable" that secondhand smoke is a serious health hazard and said the report should be particularly heeded by parents with children. Article