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| Effects Of Passive Smoking |
Question:
What are effects of passive smoking?
Answer:
Passive smoking does cause lung cancer and ischaemic heart disease, concludes
the report of the Scientific Committee on Tobacco and Health - a group of
independent scientific experts.
Long term exposure to environmental tobacco smoke increases the risk of dying
from the disease by 20-30% in non-smokers, accounting for several hundred extra
deaths from lung cancer in the UK every year, says the report. Passive smoking,
it says, also damages children's health and is an important cause of childhood
respiratory infections and chronic lung disease.
Data from the Health Education Authority show that smoking killed 120,000
people in the United Kingdom in 1995. Preliminary figures from the 1996 general
household survey, published at the end of last year, show that the fall in the
prevalence of smoking has levelled off, with even a slight increase to 1992
levels. If current smoking patterns continue, it is estimated that tobacco will
account for 10 million deaths worldwide by the late 2020s.
The report calls for public education about the effects of smoking in the home
on children.
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