Genesee County Health Department

Better Life Through Better Health

Release Date:  Immediate Release             Kill Date:  July 28,2006

 Contact Person:  Ann Goldon

                                  Health Education Coordinator

                                  Genesee County Health Department                       

Phone:  (810) 341-5898  

RE:  Surgeon General’s Report, The Health Consequences of            Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke

The Surgeon General’s Report, The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke, released today, raises new concerns about the dangers of involuntary exposure to tobacco smoke.  This report endorses the regulation adopted by the Genesee County Board of Commissioners, Regulation to Prohibit Smoking in Enclosed Places on November 25, 2003 .  “Most people no longer need to be worried about health risks as a result of going to work everyday,” said Ann Goldon, Health Education Coordinator for the Genesee County Health Department.   “The health effects of involuntary exposure to smoking are more widespread than previously thought,” said Goldon. 

In the newly released Surgeon Generals’ Report: The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provide information about the health effects of exposure to secondhand smoke including exposure to more than 50 carcinogens.  People who are exposed are at risk for lung cancer and other respiratory diseases, heart disease, asthma, among other diseases.  Nationwide, exposure is responsible for an estimated 3,000 lung cancer deaths and more than 46,000 coronary heart disease deaths among nonsmokers in the United States each year.

“We know what works, and we’ve implemented it in worksites here,” said spokesperson Jack Blosser from the Smoke-free, Multi-Agency, Resource Team (SMART.)  “The best protection for nonsmokers is a smoke-free environment.  There is still a large number of our citizens who are not safeguarded by a smoke-free policy.  These are the people who work in restaurants and bars.  We need to extend smoke-free worksites to them through voluntary policies, a strong statewide law or a change in state law to allow local communities to extend smoke-free regulations to these worksites.”

For more information on the regulation or for help quitting smoking call Ann Goldon at (810) 341-5898 .  A detailed summary of the Surgeon General’s report, The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke, and other related information can be found on CDC’s Web site (http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco).

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