Second Hand Smoke Science
Why is smoking restricted in public gathering places?
 Secondhand smoke is a health hazard to nonsmokers. Local and state laws now prohibit smoking in most public places. The Smoke-free Workplace Law protects the 86% of the public who do not smoke from involuntary exposure. Scientific studies support outdoor smoking bans:
Non-smokers and smokers alike experience allergy-like symptoms in the presence of secondhand smoke: burning eyes, headac hes, nausea, increased colds, and general lowering of immune system.
There is scientific evidence that these symptoms can progress to diseases such as asthma, heart disease and heart attacks (because secondhand smoke thickens the blood and can cause dangerous clots), lung cancer and other cancers.
Infants exposed to secondhand smoke, (even when inhaling toxic smoke particles on clothing worn by non-smokers) are much more likely to die of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS or crib death), according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
Outdoor air toxicologists and the California Environmental Protection Agency and the Surgeon General have recently issued reports that secondhand smoke is a dangerous toxic air contaminant, for which there is no known safe level of exposure.
For more information on scientific studies about health hazards of second hand smoke exposure, visit the following websites:
California Environmental Protection Agency, Air Resource Board
Environmental Tobacco Smoke: A Toxic Air Contaminant fact sheet
 U.S. Surgeon General
The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke
Press Release
Full Report
Second Hand Smoke: What it means to you
Repace Associates, Inc. Secondhand Smoke Consultant
Fact Sheet on Secondhand Smoke
 Tobacco Scam- UCSF
Real-Time Monitoring of Outdoor Environmental Tobacco Smoke Concentrations: A Pilot Study.
Neil E. Klepeis, Wayne R. Ott, Paul Switzer. Stanford University Department of Statistics. University of California, San Francisco
(March 1,2004).
California’s Clean Air Project
California’s Clean Air Project (CCAP) works to fight the effects of secondhand smoke. CCAP helps health departments and other agencies implement educational and policy initiatives through technical assistance and training programs.
Stanford News Release
Realtime study confirms the risk of exposure to secondhand tobacco outdoors
The following websites deal with public health law and legal resources:
The Technical Assistance Legal Center
The Technical Assistance Legal Center (TALC) provides free legal assistance on tobacco control issues. It provides legal fact sheets and case studies to help California communities design, implement, and enforce tobacco control polities.
Tobacco Control Legal Consortium
The Tobacco Control Legal Consortium of William Mitchell College of Law works on improving tobacco control laws and policies nationwide. Focuses on helping policy makers, health professionals, and nonprofit organizations address the legal issues surrounding tobacco control, including drifting smoke in multi-unit housing.
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