Olivia Rovegno

Thesis Statement:

Second hand smoke is a cause of cancer.

Data:

Newspapers
1.     "When these new data for cervical cancer are considered in light of similar results from previously published studies, our      findings suggest that passive smoking may be firmly linked with cervical cancer," wrote lead author Anthony J. Alberg. "Our      study of two large cohorts found that women who lived with smokers had a percent or greater risk of developing cervical      neoplasia."

     excerpt from
     Second hand smoke, cervical cancer linked.
     UPI NewsTrack, Jan 5, 2005

2.      The CDC said secondhand smoke exposure is on the decline across the United States but that it remains a public      health      hazard. It contributes to      approximately 3,000 lung cancer deaths and more than 35,000 coronary heart disease      deaths      annually among people who have never smoked, the agency said.

     excerpt from
     Laws reduce second hand smoke
     UPI NewsTrack, November 10, 2004
     
3.     Jamrozik's calculations said about 700 people die from lung cancer, heart disease or stroke because of passive smoking at      work. Another 3,600 people die as a result of second-hand smoke at home. "In the absence of a direct observational study,      I feel this research is the best evidence we have in this country to show the effects of passive smoking in the      workplace," Jamrozik's told the BBC.
     excerpt from
     Study: Second Hand Smoke Kills Thousands
     UPI Newstrack, May 16, 2004
4.     A comprehensive review of medical studies by researchers at the International Agency for Research on Cancer showed      second-hand smoke causes cancer, and that chemicals and gases in tobacco contributed to cancer of the stomach, liver,      kidney, uterine cervix, and also to myeloid leukaemia.
     
     excerpt from
     Step Up Anti-Smoking Campaign, State Urged
     Africa News Service, September 13, 2002



Journals/ Magazines



1.     In 1986 the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences produced a groundbreaking report on the health      effects of environmental tobacco smoke. After reviewing the evidence, the Council concluded that secondhand smoke was      responsible for 3,000 deaths from lung cancer each year in the United States.
Since then, the connection between secondhand smoke and lung cancer has grown steadily. One study found that      "passive smoking" raises a nonsmoker's chance of getting lung cancer by 26 percent. In 1992, the United States      Environmental Protection Agency classified secondhand smoke as a Group A carcinogen, the category reserved for the      most dangerous cancer-causing substances. Secondhand smoke contains more than 4,000 chemicals, at least 40 of which      are suspected to cause cancer.
excerpt from
Why Second Hand Smoke is a First Hand Hazard
     Current Health 2, a Weekly Reader publication. Nov 1998

2.     Nonsmoking adults chronically exposed to pollutants emitted by the cigarettes of a spouse or coworkers face a roughly      20 percent increased risk of lung cancer, according to a new study conducted jointly at centers throughout Europe.      That i     ncrease disappears, however, if exposures occurred only during childhood or ceased at least 15 years ago, the authors      report in the Oct. 7 JOURNAL OF THE NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE.
     Paolo Boffetta of the International Agency for Research on Cancer in Lyon, France, and his coworkers studied the smoke-     exposure history of 650 people with lung cancer and 1,542 others who were free of all diseases linked to cigarettes. None of      the participants had ever smoked.
     This "eagerly awaited" study "is among the largest and most exhaustive examinations of passive smoking's effects on lung      cancer," comment William J, Blot and Joseph K. McLaughlin of the International Epidemiology Institute in Rockville, Md., in      an editorial accompanying the new report. The new European data reinforce a host of earlier, weaker studies. When all are      considered together, Blot and McLaughlin argue, "the inescapable scientific conclusion is that environmental tobacco      smoke is a low-level lung carcinogen" and that investments in antismoking campaigns stand to benefit both smokers and      others.

     Passive Smoking: Confirming the risks
     Janet Raloff
     Science News Oct 17, 1998