Toll of Tobacco
Maine Tobacco Use Facts
Partnership For A Tobacco-Free Maine: Maine Facts and Statistics
CDC's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System
Secondhand Smoke Facts
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The U.S. Surgeon General released a 2010 report the health effects of tobacco smoke that reminds us that, "any exposure to tobacco smoke, even an occassional cigarette or exposure to secondhand smoke, is harmful." The full report and fact sheets are available at www.surgeongeneral.gov.
- According to a 2006 report from the U.S. Surgeon General, “there is NO risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke,” 1 and the EPA has identified secondhand smoke as a Group A carcinogen, the most toxic class of chemicals which are known to cause cancer in humans. 2
- Secondhand smoke is a leading trigger of asthma attacks and other respiratory problems3.
- Secondhand smoke is classified as a “toxic air contaminant,” such as asbestos, lead, vehicle exhaust, and a host of other chemicals strictly regulated in the U.S.4
1United States, Office of the Surgeon General. The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke. (Atlanta, GA: Department of Health and Human Services, 2006).
2 United States, Office of Health and Environmental Assessment, Health Effects of Exposure to Secondhand Smoke. (Washington, DC: Environmental Protection Agency, 1992).
3 United States, Office of the Surgeon General. The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke. (Atlanta, GA: Department of Health and Human Services, 2006).
4 California Environmental Protection Agency. Environmental Tobacco Smoke: A Toxic Air Contaminant. (Sacramento, CA: California Air Resource Board, 2006).
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Secondhand Smoke Causes Heart Disease
U.S. Surgeon General’s Report
Read the U.S. Surgeon General’s Report on The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke
Tobacco Cessation & Prevention
August 2011 New England Journal of Medicine: Smoking and Mental Illness - Breaking the Link.
