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BMJ: Health Risks of Secondhand Smoke Exposure Even Greater [06/30-3]
Excerpts from: Passive smoke risk 'even greater'
BBC [06/29/04]
The risks of passive smoking could be twice as bad as previously feared, the British Medical Journal has reported.
Researchers from London's St George's Medical School and the Royal Free hospital found passive smoking increased the risk of coronary heart disease by 50-60%. The team, which studied 4,792 men over 20 years, said earlier studies which had found a 25-30% increased risk focused on people living with smokers.
They did not take account of exposure at work and other places, it added.
Doctors at the British Medical Association conference this week have called for a workplace smoking ban.
They produced a giant "prescription" signed by doctors calling on government to impose such a ban.
Previous research has linked passive smoking to increased risk of heart disease and stroke.
St George's Hospital's Professor Peter Whincup and colleagues examined the links between a blood marker of smoke exposure, called cotinine, and the risk of heart disease and stroke in more than 4,500 men.
The men were aged between 40 and 59 and came from 18 different towns across the UK. They were monitored for 20 years.
Professor Whincup's team found the men with the highest levels of cotinine in their blood, and therefore the highest exposure to passive smoke, had the highest risk of heart disease. Higher cotinine levels were linked with a 50-60% greater risk of heart disease. Previous studies that looked at the risk posed by living with a smoker estimated a 25-30% increased risk of heart disease.
This suggests the dangers of passive smoking may have been underestimated, according to the researchers.
The risks were particularly high when they looked over a short time scale, which suggests the link between cotinine levels and heart disease declines with time.
This means previous studies that looked at years of data could have further underestimated the risk, they said.
Professor Whincup said: "The true effects of passive smoking may have been underestimated by concentrating on partner exposure. "What we have here is a measure of overall passive smoking exposure.
"The effects of passive smoking are likely to be bigger and more widespread. This adds weight to the argument that we should do everything we can to minimise passive smoking exposure," he said.
Professor Whincup said: "The true effects of passive smoking may have been underestimated by concentrating on partner exposure. "What we have here is a measure of overall passive smoking exposure.
"The effects of passive smoking are likely to be bigger and more widespread. This adds weight to the argument that we should do everything we can to minimise passive smoking exposure," he said.
At the British Medical Association's annual conference, Dr Peter Maguire, a consultant from Northern Ireland and the Deputy Chairman of the BMA Board of Sciences, called for a ban on smoking in public places and the workplace.
"The British government needs to have courage and follow the lead of Ireland, New York and Norway.
click here to view this study from BMJ
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