Colorado's Chief Medical Officer Touts Surgeon General's Report on
Secondhand Smoke
June 28, 2006, Denver — Colorado's chief medical officer, Dr. Ned Calonge, said a new
U.S. Surgeon General's Report on the health consequences of involuntary
exposure to tobacco smoke once again concludes that secondhand smoke is
a serious health hazard.
This is the most comprehensive scientific report ever produced on the
health harms of secondhand smoke and marks the first time the Surgeon
General has issued a report on secondhand smoke since 1986. Materials on
the Surgeon General's report can be found at
www.cdc.gov/tobacco/.
Colorado's new statewide smoke-free law begins July 1 in nearly all
indoor public areas and workplaces.
"The Surgeon General's Report is a highly respected scientific
authority on smoking and health, and this report supports the decision
of Colorado legislators to approve a smoke-free workplace law that
protects all workers and customers from secondhand smoke. Now that the
Surgeon General has added to the body of evidence about how harmful
secondhand smoke really is, it's important that our leaders resist any
efforts to weaken the smoke-free law," said Dr. Calonge, who is with the
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
The new report summarizes the scientific evidence that has led every
major public health organization and scientific authority to conclude
that secondhand smoke isn't just an annoyance, but a serious health
hazard. The report affirms the broad scientific consensus that
secondhand smoke causes lung cancer, heart disease, sudden infant death
syndrome, low-birth-weight, asthma, bronchitis and other serious
illnesses and is responsible for tens of thousands of deaths each year
in the United States. Secondhand smoke contains more than 4,000
chemicals, including more than 60 known carcinogens.
Because of the overwhelming evidence that smoke-free laws protect
health, there is growing momentum across the United States and around
the world to enact such laws.
Thirteen other states, Washington, DC and Puerto Rico have passed
statewide smoke-free workplace laws that include restaurants and bars.
The states are: California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii (effective
Nov. 16), Maine, Massachusetts, Montana, New Jersey, New York, Rhode
Island, Utah, Vermont and Washington. The Montana and Utah laws extend
to bars in 2009, while the DC law does so on January 1, 2007. Hundreds
of cities and counties across the United States have also taken action,
as have whole countries including Ireland, England (effective 2007),
Scotland, Uruguay, Norway, New Zealand, Sweden, Italy, Bhutan and
Bermuda.
For more information about the statewide smoke-free law in Colorado,
which affects most indoor public areas and workplaces, please visit
www.smokefreecolorado.org or call 1-888-701-2006.
The call center is
free and available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
For smokers who are looking to quit on July 1, The Colorado Quitline
and the Colorado QuitNet are two free resources offered by the state.
The Colorado Quitline, operated by National Jewish Hospital under
contract to the Department of Public Health and Environment, is a free
telephone coaching service, available in English and Spanish throughout
the state. In addition to connecting people who want to quit tobacco
with trained coaches, the Quitline also offers a free eight-week supply
of the Patch to help them through the quitting process. The Quitline
is available Monday through Thursday between the hours of 7 a.m. and 9
p.m.; on Friday between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.; and on Saturday and Sunday
between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.
The Colorado QuitNet is a Web site that offers peer support
through an on-line community of individuals who are trying to quit, as
well as expert advice on quitting strategies and medications that may be
helpful. The QuitNet is available 24 hours per day, seven days a week at
www.co.quitnet.com.
For more Boulder County information:
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