[Mpls] reply to gemgram and griffith

[Chris Johnson]

Ed Felien wrote:

>Mr. Griffith, I'm sure you remember Mark Twain's comment, "There are lies,
>damn lies and statistics."  You are correct that the National Cancer
>Institute (and the Environmental Protection Agency) say that there are 3000
>deaths of non-smokers each year from second hand smoke. 
>

One small correction:  that estimate is 3,000 deaths yearly from *lung 
cancer* caused by secondhand smoke.  Just as smoking directly causes or 
adversely affects dozens of cancers and other diseases, so does 
secondhand smoke.  One recent estimate for the number of heart-disease 
related secondhand smoke caused deaths is 10,000 per year.

A thousand here and a thousand there, and pretty soon we're talking 
about real death.
Somehow I think the survivors of even those "3000" are none too happy 
about it.

Research on secondhand smoke affects has only recently started producing 
results.  It is guaranteed the number of deaths per year attributed to 
secondhand smoke will only go up dramatically in the future as medicine 
learns more about it.


Chris Johnson / Fulton