passive smoking kills thousands of people and causes
lung cancer and heart disease says new bma report
Press release date: Wednesday, 06 Nov 2002 (BMA London)
The BMA is renewing its call for a ban on smoking
in public places following the launch today of its
report, 'Towards Smoke-free Public Places', which
concludes that a thousand people die every year as
a result of passive smoking.
Exposure to other people's tobacco smoke also causes
a number of life-threatening health problems including
lung cancer, heart disease, the development of asthma
and cot death.
The BMA is also calling for a new tax on all tobacco
company profits to fund public awareness campaigns
on the health risks of passive smoking and the development
of smoke-free public places.
'Towards Smoke-free Public Places' comes from the
BMA's Board of Science and Education and Tobacco Control
Resource Centre (TCRC) and calls on the Government
to introduce legislation as soon as possible to ban
smoking in public places. The Government is being
urged to learn from successful smoke-free policies
in other countries and implement similar measures
here.
There is NO safe level of exposure to second-hand
smoke and certain people are particularly vulnerable
to adverse effects. These groups represent a substantial
proportion of the population.
For example, around 8 million people in the UK have
lung disease, 2.1 million people have angina, 1.3
million people have had a heart attack, and 300,000
people have had a stroke. There are an estimated 10.8
million women of childbearing age, and some 750,000
pregnant women. Children represent 20% of the population
and 6% of them are under five. 1.5 million children
– one in seven – have asthma.
Dr Vivienne Nathanson, the BMA's Head of Science
and Ethics, said today: "By not banning smoking
in public places the Government is putting the health
of vast numbers of the population at risk and is also
placing a huge burden on the NHS."
She added: "In line with the 'polluter pays'
principle it's time the tobacco companies picked up
the tab for the harm their products are doing. The
Government could make a start on this by taxing them
to pay for public health campaigns on the risks of
passive smoking."
The BMA considers a public place to be any enclosed
space with public access. For example shops, banks,
taxicabs, and the workplace. In the UK, smoking restrictions
in public places have strong public support –
86% of the public recently said they were in favour
of smoking restrictions at work. And yet three million
people are still exposed to tobacco smoke in the course
of their work.
Dr Sinead Jones, Director of TCRC and author of the
report explained today that: "Tobacco smoke is
a potent cocktail of over 4000 toxins – more
than 50 cause cancer. Evidence has existed since 1983
that passive smoking harms health and yet the Government
has only focussed on voluntary measures to curb smoking
in public places – it's not enough. We will be
doing all we can to put pressure on the Government
to take action – we don't want to wait five years
as we did for a ban on tobacco advertising."
Recommendations of the report include the following:
Legislation is urgently required to ban smoking in
public places. The Government should learn from the
successful smoke-free policies in other countries.
Introduction of smoke-free public places and workplaces
should be coupled with support for smokers who wish
to quit.
Public information campaigns on the health risks of
passive smoking should be developed.
Health warnings on cigarette packets should clearly
explain the real risks of passive smoking. There should
be specific warnings on risks of passive smoking to
babies, children, pregnant women and those with existing
heart and lung disease.
The European Commission should make actions on passive
smoking a priority, for example, by supporting the
exchange of best practice knowledge and by introducing
legislation for smoke-free workplaces and public places.
Ends
Notes to editors:
Click here for a summary of 'Towards
Smoke-free Public Places'.
Keywords: Tobacco
For further information please contact :
Franca Tranza 020 7383 6188
Public Affairs Division After 6:00 pm and weekends:
British Medical Association 020 8997 3653
BMA House, Tavistock Square 020 8674 6294,
London WC1H 9JP 020 8444 7992
020 8651 5130
01525 379 792
BMA web site: www.bma.org.uk
Email: pressoffice@bma.org.uk
|