Mark Wolfson, Ph.D., lead author on the study and professor and section head for the Section on Society and Health in the Department of Social Science and Health Policy, commented on the study findings:
"It is well-known that there are some serious health issues surrounding secondhand smoke. ... While some college campuses are smoke free, others have virtually no restrictions on smoking, not even in the residence halls. There is a growing national movement to move away from that, but it still very much varies by campus. In this first study to evaluate SHS exposure among college students, we were really kind of floored to see how many, and how frequently, students are exposed to it."
The study included survey data collected from 4,223 undergraduate college students from 10 North Carolina universities. Approximately 83 percent of survey participants reported having been exposed to SHS at least once in the seven days preceding the survey. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), SHS contains approximately 250 chemicals that are either toxic or carcinogenic and is estimated to be responsible for 3,000 deaths each year from lung cancer and 35,000 deaths annually from coronary disease. The study will appear in the July 23 issue of Nicotine & Tobacco Research, a publication of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco.
(Source: www.sciencedaily.com)
Labels: second hand smoke
Posted By: Aspen Education Group