The U.S. government's
top doctor says the debate is over, second hand smoke is not a mere
annoyance but a serious health hazard that leads to disease and premature
death in children and non-smoking adults. "Second hand smoke kills people,"
stated Surgeon General Richard Carmona, citing a report issued this week.
Among the key points in the new 670-page study is that tens of
thousands of Americans die each year as a result of involuntary smoking.
Over 126 million people in the United States are regularly exposed to
passive smoke. He said passive smoking causes lung cancer, cardiovascular
disease and a host of other illnesses.
"One of the fastest-growing groups of lung-cancer patients are
individuals in their early 40s who are non-smokers," according to Karen
Giammicchio, R.N., Oncology Genetics/High Risk Coordinator at The Cancer
Institute at Alexian Brothers Medical Center in Elk Grove Village,
Illinois.
The likely culprit for lung cancer in these cases is exposure to an
environmental risk factor, such as second hand smoke, Giammicchio says. "We
know that all cancer is genetic, but there must be environmental exposure
-- a gene-environment interaction -- to trigger cancer," she says. Second
hand smoke is a key lung cancer catalyst.
"Smoke is toxic and full of poisons," says Charles Baum, M.D., Vice
President of Health Affairs for the suburban Chicago-based Alexian Brothers
Hospital Network. "There doesn't need to be massive levels of exposure when
combined with a genetic predisposition to trigger cancer."
The Surgeon General's new report is providing additional evidence for
supporters of smoking bans at work and in public places. Baum is a longtime
advocate of smoking bans and increased cigarette taxes to discourage
smoking and to improve community health. He actively supported a recent
effort to ban smoking in public places and to hike licensing fees for
cigarette retailers in several Chicago suburban communities, and separate
measures that will ban smoking in public places across Cook County,
Illinois, beginning in 2007. He wants to see a similar ban enacted
statewide.
Experts with the Alexian Brothers Hospital Network encourages those who
have been exposed to secondhand smoke -- or other environmental risks
associated with lung cancer -- to visit their doctor and to undergo a lung
scan. They offer the same advice to those who smoke, or have smoked with a
family history of lung cancer, stating that early detection is imperative
for long-term survival rates and curability.
Recently Alexian Brothers introduced the Alexian Lung Scan, a state-of-
the-art CT screening that can detect the presence of tiny irregularities or
nodules that are too small to be seen in a conventional X-ray. The lung
scan, which lasts 20 seconds, identifies these abnormalities. A spirometry
screening for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), such as
emphysema and chronic bronchitis, is included with the lung scan. Alexian
is providing the test free to the first 100 people who complete one of the
network's smoking cessation programs.
The Cancer Institute at Alexian Brothers is operated by Alexian
Brothers Hospital Network, which also includes Alexian Brothers Medical
Center and Alexian Rehabilitation Hospital in Elk Grove Village, St.
Alexius Medical Center and Alexian Brothers Behavioral Health Hospital in
Hoffman Estates, Illinois.
Alexian Brothers Hospital Network
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