Setting the record straight: secondhand smoke is a preventable health risk

Abstract

US Environmental Protection Agency, 401 M Street, SW, Washington, DC 20460, USA Office of Air and Radiation, R Axelrad Office of Research and Development SP Bayard J Jinot In January 1993 the US Environmental Pro tection Agency (EPA) released its report Res piratory health effects of passive smoking: lung cancer and other disorders. The report represents the most comprehensive and up-to date review of the evidence on the respiratory health effects of passive smoking. An executive summary of the report was published in Tobacco Control (1993; 2: 71-7). The tobacco industry, perhaps fearful of the impact of the report on the adoption of clean indoor air policies, has sought to attack it through litigation and a massive advertising and public relations campaign. The authors of this commentary have prepared a spirited defence of the EPA report and a rebuttal to the industry's arguments. Their paper was ap proved and released by the EPA in June 1994 as an official agency document, and is reproduced below. Several other articles related to the EPA