SURGEON GENERAL: SECONDHAND SMOKE CAN CAUSE IMMEDIATE DAMAGE

My next blog post was planned for next week, as I've been extraordinarily busy since the beginning of November. However, this is something I can't stand to withhold from my audience for more than a few minutes.

Our new Surgeon General, Regina Benjamin, has released her first report on the dangers of secondhand smoke. It's called 'How Tobacco Smoke Causes Disease.' In it, she says, "there is no risk-free level of exposure to tobacco smoke." Okay, that's a strong statement--but we already knew that. Benjamin goes on to say,

"The chemicals in tobacco smoke reach your lungs quickly every time you inhale causing damage immediately...Inhaling even the smallest amount of tobacco smoke can also damage your DNA, which can lead to cancer." --Regina Benjamin, U.S. Surgeon General

(Oh, no!)...and one of 64 doctors who worked on the project concludes,

"Casual smokers think they are improving their health by cutting back but there is no safe level...It affects people's DNA immediately, and their heart and blood vessels literally seconds to minutes after being exposed...It inflames and irritates the lining of blood vessels, making the blood more prone to clotting and the combination of inflammation, irritation and increased clotting can literally cause a heart attack even from the kind of exposure from walking into a smoky bar." --Dr. Tim McAfee, director of the Office on Smoking and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Game over, Big Tobacco, GAME OVER.