Philip Morris
the Health Consequences of Involuntary Smoking A Report of the Surgeon General 860000
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THE HEALTH
CONSEQiTENCES
OF INVOLUNTARY
SMOIiING
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a report of the Surgeon General
1986
PREPUBLICATION EDITION
This copy is issued as a prepublication edilion
containing no subject index. A tinal edition wilhh
index will be available approximately eight weeks
from dale of release.
:
;#i U.S. GEPARTMENT OE HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
PubNt Heelth Senke
i Cenlers /a Oisease Caw+lrol
Cenlei /or Mba111i Prorerolion.nd Edueatlon
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a.(46 Rock.lUe, Marylarid 2057

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FOREWORD
The data reviewed in 17 previous U.S. Public Ilealth Service
reports on the health consequences of smoking have conclusively
established cigarette smokinQ ns the largest single preventable cause
of premature death and disability in the United States.
The question whether tobacco smoke is harmful to smokers was
answered more than 20 years ago. As a result, many scientists began
to question whether the low levels of exposure to environmental
tobacco smoke (El'S) received by nonsmokers could also be harmful.
The current Iteport, The Ilealth Consequences of Involuntary
Smoking, examines the evidence that even the lower exposure to
smoke received by the nonsmoker carries with it a health risk. Use of
the term "involuntary smoking" denotes that for many nonsmokers,
exposure to ETS is the result of an unavoidable consequence of being
in proximity to smokers. It is the first Report in the health
consequences of smokh+g scries to establish a health risk due to
tobacco smoke exposure fvr individuals other than the smoker, and
represents the work of nwre than 60 distinguished physicians and
scientists, both in this country and abroad.
After careful examination of the available evidence, the following
overall conclusions can lxr reached:
1. Involuntary smoking is a cause of disease, including lung
cancer, in healthy nonsinokers..
2. The children of parents who smoke, compared with the
children of nonsmoking pnrents, have an increased frequency
of respiratory inlections, increased respiratory symptoms, and
slightly smaller rates of increase in lung function as the lung
matu res:
3. Simple separation of snwkers and nonsmokers within the
same air space may reduce, but does not eliminate, exposure
of nonsmokers to envirommental tobacco smoke.
Exposure to environmental tobacco smoke occurs at home, at the
worksite, in public, and in othcr places where smoking is perrniited.

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The quality of the indoor environment nnust be a concern of all who
control and occupy that environment. Protection ol individuals from
exposure to environmental tobacco smoke is therefore a responsibili-
ty shared by all:
As parents and adults we must protect the health of our
children by not exposing them to environmental tobacco
smoke. %,
As employers and employees we must ensure that the act of
smoking does not expose the nonsmoker to tobacco smoke.
. For smokers, it is their responsibility to assure that their
behavior does not jeopardize the health of others.
For nonsmokers, it is their responsibility to provide a support-
ive environment for smokers who are attempting to stop.
Actions taken by individuals, employers, and employee organiza-
tions reflect the growing concern for protecting nonsmokers. The
number of laws and regulations enacted at the national, State, and
local level governing smoking in public has increased substantially
over the past 10 years, and surveys conducted by numerous
organizations show strong public support for these actions among
both smokers and nonsmokers.
As a Nation, we have made substantial progress in addressing the
enormous toll inflicted by active smoking. lalorts to improve and
protect individual health must not only be cuntinued but strength-
ened: On the basis of the evidence presented in this Report, it is clear
that actions to protect nonsmokers from Cl'S exposure not only are
warranted but are essential to protect public health. _
Robert E. Wiiidom, M.D.
Assist:mt Secret.ary for llealth

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1'REFACE
This, the 1986 Report of Uie Surgeon General, is the U.S. Public
Health Service's 18th in the health consequences of smoking series
and the 5th issued during my tenure as Surgeon General.
Previous Reports have documented the tremendous health burden
to society front smoking, particularly cigarette smoking. The evi-
dence establishing cigarette smoking as the single largest preventa-
ble cause of premature death and disability in the United States is
overwhelrninR-totaling more than 50,000 studies from dozens of
cultures. Smoking is now known to be causally related a a variety of
cancers in addition to lung cancer; it is a cause of cardiovascular
disease, particularly coronary heart disease, and is the major cause
of chronic obstructive lung disease. It is estimated that smoking is
responsible for well over 300,000 deaths annually in the United
States, representing approximately 15 percent of all mortality.
Thirty years ago, however, the scientific evidence linking smoking
with early death and disubilit:v was more limited. By 1964.
the year the Advisory Committee to the Surgeon General
issued the first rehos-t un smoking and health, a substantial
body of evidence had accumulated upon which a judgment could be
made that smoking wrts a cause of disease in active smokers.
Subsequent reports over the last 20 years have expanded our
understanding and knowledge about smoking behavior, the toxicity
and carcinogenicity of tobacco smoke, and the specific disease risks
resulting from exposure to this ngent.
This Report is the first issued since 1964 that identifies a chronic
disease risk resulting from exposure to tobacco smoke for individuals
other than smokers. lt is now clear that disease risk due to the
inhalation of tobacco smoke is not limited to the individual who is
smoking, but can extend to those who inhale tobacco smoke emitted
into the air. This Report represents a detailed review of the health
effects resulting from nonsmoker exposure to environmental tobacco
smoke (ETS). E`I5 is the combination of smoke emitted from a
burning tobacco product between puffs (sidestream smoke) and the
smoke exhaled by Ute smoker. The 1986 Report, The Health
Consequences of Involuntary Smoking, is a critical review of all the
available scientific evidence pertaining to the health effects of ETS
exposure on nonsmokers.'!`he term "involuntary smoking" is used to

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note that such exposures often occur as an unavoidable consequence
of being in close proximity to smokers.
Lung Cancer and Environmental Tobacco Smoke
The appropriate framework for an examination of Elie lung cancer
risk from involuntary smoking is lhat of a low-dose exposure to a
known human carcinogen. Over 30 years of research have conclu-
sively established cigarette smoke as a carcinogen. This Report
presents evidence thal the clrenrical comtrvsition of sidestream
smoke is qualitatively similar to the mainstream smoke inhaled by
the active smoker, and that both mainstream and sidestrearn smoke
act as carcinogens in bioassay systems. Uata related to environmen-
tal levels of tobacco smoke constituents and from measures of
nicotine absorption in nonsmokers suggest that nonsmokers are
exposed to levels of environmental tobacco smoke that would be
expected to generate a Iuirg cancer risk; epidemiological studies of
populations exposed to CI'S have documented an increased risk for
lung cancer in those nonsmokers with increased exposure.
It is rare to have such detailed exposure data or hunian epidemio-
logic studies on disease occurrence when atterupling to evaluate the
risk of low-dose exposure to an agent with established toxicity at
higher levels of exposure. The relative abunilance of data reviewed
in this Report, their cohesiveness, and their biologic plausibility
allow a judgment that irivoluntary smoking can cause lung cancer in
nonsmokers. Although the number of lung cnncers due to involun-
tary smoking is smaller tlran that due to active smoking, it still
represents a number sufficiently large to geuerate substantial public
health concern.
It is certain that a substantial proportion of Elie lung cancers that
occur in nonsmokers are due to Cl'S exposure; however more
complete data on Elie dose and vnriability of smoke exposure in Elie
nonsmoking l1 S. population will be needed before a quantitalive
estimate of the number of such cancers can be made.
Children and Infants
This Report also documents a relationship between parental
smoking and the respiratory health of infants and children (under 2
years of age). Infants of parents who smoke have an increased risk of
hospitalization for bronchitis and pneurnonia when compared with
infants of nonsmoking parents. There is a relationship between
parental smoking and an increased frequency of respiratory synrp-
toms in children. A slower rate of growth in lung function has been
observed in children of smoking p:rrents. In many studies, if both
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parents smoke, a stronger relationship exists tisan if only one parent
smokes.
What future respiratory burden these findinga may represent for
these children later in life is not known. As a former pediatric
surgeon, I strongly urge parents to refrain from smoking in the
presence of children as a tneans of prolecting not only their
children's current health status but also Urcir own.
Diseases Other Than Lung Cancer
Several studies have provided data on the relationship between
CI'S and cancers other tlian lung cancer and on ETS exposure and
cardiovascular disease. I lowever, further research in these areas will
be required to determine whether an nssociation exists between CI'S
exposure and an increased risk of developing these diseases.
Policies Restricting Smoking In Public Places
The growth in our understnnding of the disense risk associated
with involuntary smoking has been accompanied by a change in tlre
social acceptability of smoking and by a growing body of legislation,,
regulation, and voluntary action that addresses where smoking may
occur in public. Forty States and the District of Columbia now have
some form of legislation controiling or restricting smoking in various
public settings. Some Strites limit snroking to only a few designated
areas; however, States are increasingly developing and implement-
ing comprehensive legislation that restricts smoking in many public
settings, including the worki)lace. Nine States have restrictions that
cover smoking not only by public employees but also by employees in
the private sector.
No systematic evaluation of the effects these measures may have
on smoking behavior has been conducted; but there is little doubt
that strong public sentiment exists for implementing such restric-
tions. A number of national surveys conducted by voluntary health
organWations, government ai;encies, nnd even the tobacco industry
have documented that an overwhelming majority of both smokers
and nonsmokers support restricting smoking in public.
Public Health Policy and Involuntary Smoking
The 1986 SSurgeon General's fteport on the llealth Consequences of
Involuntary Smoking clearly documents that nonsmokers are placed
at increased risk for developing disease as the result of exposure to
environmental tobacco smoke.
Critics often express thit more research is required, that certain
studies are f]awed, or that we should delay action until more
conclusive proof is produced: As both a physician and a public health
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official, it is my judgment that the time for delay is past; measures to
protect the public health are required now. The scientific case
against involuntary smoking as a health risk is more than sufficient
to justify appropriate remedial action, and the goal of any remedial
action must be to protect the nonsmoker from environmental
tobacco smoke.
The data contained in this Report on the rapid diffusion of tobacco
smoke throughout an enclosed environment suggest that separation
or smokers and nonsmokers in the same room or in different rooms
that share the same ventilation system may reduce ETS exposure
but will not eliminate exposure. The responsibility to protect the
safety of the indoor environment is shared by all who occupy or
control that environment.
Changes in smoking policies regarding the workplace and other
environments necessitated by the data presented in this Report
should not be designed to punish the smoker. Successful implementa-
tion of protection for the nonsmoker requires the support and
cooperation of smokers, nonsmokers, management, and employees
and should be developed through a cooperative effort of all groupss
affected. ln addition, changes are often more effective when support
and assistance is provided for the smoker who wants to quit.
Cigarette smoking is an addictive behavior, and the individual
smoker must decide whether or not to continue that behavior;
however, it is evident from the data presented in this volume that
the choice to smoke cannot interfere with the nonsmokers' right to
breathe air free of tobacco smoke. The right of smokers to smoke
ends where their behavior affects the health and well-being of
others; furthermore, it is the smokers' responsibility to ensure that
they do not expose nonsmokers to the potential harmful effects of
tobacco smoke.
C. Everett Koop, M.D.
Surgeon Ceneral

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TABLE OT CONTENTS
Foreword .............................................................. vii
Preface .......................................,.......................... ix
Acknowledgments.................................................. . xiii
Qlntroduction , Ov erview, and Summary and
Conclusions ........................................................ 1
2. Health Effects of Environmental Tobacco Smoke Ex-
posure ............................................................. 17
3. Environmental Tobacco Smoke Chemistry and Expo-
sures of Nonsmokers ........................................ 119
4. Ueposition and Absorption of Tobacco Smoke Constit-
uents ....:........................................................ 175
5. Toxicity, Acute Irritant Effects, and Corcinogenicity
of Environmental Tobacco Smoke ....................... 223
6. Policies Restricting Smoking in Public Places and the
Workplace ....................................................... 259

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INTRODUCTION, OVERVIEW,
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AND
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

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CONTENTS
lntroduction
Development and Organization of the 1986 Report
p
Overview
Environmental Tobacco Smoke Constitutents
Extent of Exposure
Lung Cancer .
Respiratory Disease
Cardiovascular Disease
Irritation
Determinants of Exposure
Policies Restricting Smoking
Summary and Conclusions of the 1986 Report
Ileallh Effects of Environmental Tobacco Smoke.
Exposure
Environmental Tobacco Smoke Chemistry and
Exposures of Nonsmokers
Deposition and Absorption of Tobacco Smoke Constit-
uents
Toxicity, Acute Irritaiit L'ffects, and Carcinogenicity
of Environmental! Tobacco Smoke
Policies Restricting Smoking in Public Places and the
Workplace

Introduction
Development and Organization of the 1986 Iteport
The 1986 Report was developed by the Office on Smoking and
llealth of the U.S. DeparUnent of /lealth and Human Services as
part of the Uepartment's reshonsibility, under Public Law 91-222, to
report new and current information on smoking and health to Lite
United States Congress.
The scientific content of this Report reflects the contributions of
more than 60 scientists representing a variety of disciplines.
individual manuscripts were written by experts known for their
understanding of and work in specific content areas. These maiiu-
scripts were refined through a series of meetings attended by the
authors, OfGce on SAioking llealth staff and consultants, and the
Surgeon General.
Upon receipt of Lite final manuscripts frorm Lite authors, the Office
and its consultants edited and consolidated the individual manu-
scripts into appropriate chapters. These draft chapters were subjec-
ted to an extensive outside peer review (see Acknowledgments for
individuals and their afliliations) whereby each was reviewed by up
to seven experts. Their comments were integrated and Lite entire
volume was assembled. This revised edition of Lite Report was
resubjected to review by l7 distinguished scientists outside the
Federal Government, both in this country and abroad. Parallel to
this review, the entire Report was also submitted to various
institutes and agencies within the U.S. Public Health Service for
review and comment.
The 1986 Report cotrt:aiiis a Foreword by the Assistant Secretary
for Health, a Preface by the Surgeon General of the U.S. Public
IlealtlrService, and the followiiig chapters:
Chapter 1. Introduclion, Overview, and Summary and Conclu-
sions
Chapter 2. l lealth Effects of Environmental Tobacco Smoke
Exposure
Chapter 3. Environinental Tobacco Smoke Chemistry and Expo-
suresof Nonsmokers
Chapter 4. Deposition and Absorption of Tobacco Smoke Constit- -
uents
Chapter 5. Toxicity, Acute Irrit:ant Effects, and Carcinogenicity
of Environmental Tobacco Smoke
Chapter 6. Policies Restricting Smoking in Public Places and the
Workplace
Overview
Inhalation of tobacco smoke during active cigarette smoking
remains the largest single preventable cause of death and disability

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/or the U.S. }rulrulutiun. Tlre health currsertuences of cigarette
smoking and of the use of other tobacco products have been
extensively documented in the 17 previous Reports in the health
consequences of smoking series issued by the 'J.S. Public ilealtli
Service. Cigarette smoking is a major cause or cancer; it is most
strongly associated with cancers of the lung and respiratory tract,
but also causes cancers at other sites, including the pancreas and
urinary bladder. It is the single greatest cause of chronic obstructive
lung diseases. It causes cardiovascular diseases, including coronary
heart disease, aortic aneurysm, and alherosclerotic peripheral
vascular disease. Maternal cigarette smoking endangers felal and
neon-Mal health; it contributes lo perinatal mortality, low birth
weight, and complications during pregnancy. More than 300,UUU
prenrature dealhs occur in the United States each year that are
directly attribut:able to tobacco use, particularly cigarette smoking.
This Report examines in detail the scienlif ic evidence on involun-
tary smoking as a potential cause of disease in nonsmokers.
Nonsnrokers' exposure to environmental tobacco smoke is termed
involuntary snroking in this Report because the exposure generally
occurs as an unavoidable consequence of being in proximity to
smokers, particularly in enclosed indoor envirorrments. The term
"passive smokitig"'is also used throughout the scientific literature to
describe this exposure.
The magnitude of the disease risks for active smokers secondary to
their "high dose" exposure to tobacco smoke suggests that the "Io.ver
dose" exposure to tobacco smoke received by involuntary smokers
may also have risks. Allhoul;h the risks of involuntary smoking are
smaller than lhe risks of active smokiirg, the number of indi'viduals
injured by involuntary smoking is larf;c both in absolute lerms ancl
in comparison with the number injured by some other agents in the
general environment thut are regulated to curtail their potential to
cause human illness.
This Report reviews the evidence on the characteristics of main-
stream tobacco smoke and of environmmrtal tobacco smoke, on the
levels of exposure to environmental tobacco smoke that occur, and
on the health effects of involuntary exposure to tobacco smoke. The
composition of lhe tobacco smoke inhaled by active smokers and by
involuntary smokers is examined fur similarities and differences,
and the concentrations of tobacco smoke components that can be
measured in a variety of settings are explored, us is smoke deposition
and absorption in the respiratory tract. The studies that describe the
risks of environmental tobacco smoke exposure for humans are
carefully reviewed for their findings and their validity. The evidence
on the health effects of involuntary smoking is reviewed for biologic
plausibility, and compared with extrapolations of the risks of active

snrukint; to the luwer duse of exlxrsure to tub:rctv smoke IuunJ in
nonsmokers. This review leads to three major conclusions:
1. Involuntary smoking is a cause of disease, including
lung cancer, In hcalthy nonsmokers.
2. The children of parents who smoke compared with the
children of nonsmoking parents have an increased
frequency of respiratory infections, increased respira-
tory symptoms, and slightly smaller rates of increase in
lung function as the lung matures.
3. The simple separntion of smokers and nonsmukers
" within the same air space may reduce, but clves not
elimir-ate, the exposure of nonsmokers to envirowimen-
tal tobacco smoke.
The subsequent chapters of this volume describe in detail the
evidence Lhat supports these conclusions; the evidence is briefly
summarized here.
Environmental Tobacco Smoke Constituents
lmportant considerations in exarnining the risks of involunt.ar,y
smoking are the corrrtwsitivn of environmental tobacco smoke (L I'S)
and its toxicity and curcincrgenicity relative to the tobacco smoke
inhaled by active smokers. Mainstream cigarette smoke is the smoke
drawn through the tobacco into the smoker's mouth. Sidestream
smoke is the smoke emitted by the burning tobacco between pulfs.
Environmental tob.lcco smoke results from the combination of
sidestream smoke and the Iraction of exlialed mainstream smnke not
retained by the srnuker. In contrast with mainstream smoke, ETS is
diluted into a lar6er volume of air, and it ages prior to inhalation.
The cornparison of the chemical composition of the smoke inhaled
by active smokers with that inlraled by involuntary smokers suggests
that the toxic and carcinogenic effects are qualitatively similar, a
similarity that is not too suri-risinK because both mainstream smoke
and environmental tobacco smoke result from the combustion of
tobacco. Individual mainstream smoke constituents, with appropri-
ate testing, have usually been tound in sidestream smoke as well.
Ilowever; differences between sidestream smoke and mainstrenm
smoke have been well documented. The ternperature.of combustion
during sidestream smoke formatibn is lower than during main-
stream smoke formation. As a result, Rreateramounts of many of the
organic constituents of smoke, including some carcinogens, are
generated when tobacco burns and forms sidestrearn smoke than
when mainstream smoke is produced. For example, in contrast with
mainstream smoke, sidestream smoke contains greater amounts of
arnmonia, benzene, carbon monoxide, nicotine, and the carcinogens

2-napthylamine, 4-aminobiphenyl, N-nitrosamine, benzja}
anthracene, and benzo-pyrene per milligram of tobacco burned.
Although only limited bioassay data comparing mainstream smoke
and sidestream smoke are available, one study has suggested that
sidestream smoke may be more carcinogenic.
Extent of Exposure
Although sidestream smoke and mainstream smoke differ some-
what qualitatively, the differing quantitative doses of smoke compo-
nents inhaled by the active smoker and by the involuntary smoker
are of greater importance in considering the risks of the two
exposures. A number of different markers for tobacco smoke
exposure and absorption have been identified for both active and
involuntary smoking. No single marker quantifies, with precision,
the exposure to each of the smoke constituents over the wide range
of environmental settings in which involuntary smoking occurs.
However, in environments without other significant sources of dust,
respirable suspended particulate levels (RSP) can be used as a
marker of smoke exposure. Levels of nicotine and its metabolite
cotinine in body fluids provide a sensitive and specific indication of
recent whole smoke exposure under most conditions.
Widely varying levels of environmental tobacco smoke can be
measured in the home and other environments using markers. The
timeactivity patterns of nonsmokers, which indicate the time spent
in environments containing ETS, also vary widely. Thus, the extent
of exposure to ETS is probably highly variable among individuals at
a given point in time, and little is known about the variation in
exposure of the same individual at different points in time.
Lung Cancer -
The American Cancer Society estimates that there will': be more
than 135,000 deaths from lung cancer in the United States in 1986,
and 85 percent of these lung cancer deaths are directly attributable
to active cigarette smoking. Therefore, even if the number of lung
cancer deaths caused by involuntary smoking were much smaller
than the number of lung cancer deaths caused by active smokingthe
number of lung cancer deaths attributable to involuntary exposure
would still represent a problem of sufficient magnitude to warrant
substantial public health concern.
Exposure to environmental tobacco smoke has been examined in
numerous recent epidemiological studies as a risk factor for lung
cancer in nonsmokers. These studies have compared the risks for
subjects exposed to ETS at home or at work with the risks for people
not reported to be exposed in these environments. Because exposure
to ETS is an almost universal experience in the more developed
countries, these studies involve compnricon of more exposed nnci less

exposed people, rather than comparison of exposed and unexposed
people. Thus, the studies are inherently conservative in assessing the
consequences of exposure to E75. Interpretation of these studies
must consider the extent to which populations with different ETS
exposures have been identified, the gradient in ETS exposure from
the lower exposure to the higher exposure groups, and the magni-
tude of the increased lung cancer risk that results from the gradient
in ETS exposure.
To date, questionnaires have been used to classify ETS exposure.
Quantification of exposure by questionnaire, particularly lifetime
exposure, is difficult and has not beenvalidated. However, spousal
and parental smoking status identify individuals with different
levels of exposure to ETS. Therefore, investigation has focused on the
children and nonsmoking spouses of smokers, groups for whom
greater ETS exposure would be expected and for whom increased
nicotine absorption has been documented relative to the children
and nonsmoking spouses of nonsmokers.
Of the epidemiologic studies reviewed in this Report that have
examined the question of involuntary smoking's association with
lung cancer, most (11 of 13) have shown a positive association with
exposure, and in 6 the association reached statistical significance.
Given the difficulty in identifying groups with differing ETS
exposure, the low-dose range of exposure examined, and the small'
numbers of subjects in some series, it is not surprising that some
studies have found no association and that in others the association
did not reach a conventional level of statistical significance. The
question is not whether cigarette smoke can cause lung cancer; that
question has been answered unequivocally by examining the evi-
dence for active smoking. The question is, rather, can tobacco smoke
at a lower dose and through a different mode of exposure cause lung
cancer in nonsmokers? The answer must be sought in the coherence
and trends of the epidemiologic evidence available on this low-dose
exposure to a known human carcinogen. in general, those studies
with larger population sizes, more carefully validated diagnosis of
lung cancer, and more careful assessment of ETS exposure status
have shown statistically significant associations. A number of these
studies have demonstrated a dose-response relationship between the
level of ET5 exposure and lung cancer risk. By using data on nicotine
absorption by the nonsmoker, the nonsmoker's risk of developing
lung cancer observed in human epidemiologic studies can be
compared with the level of risk expected from an extrapolation of the
dose-response data for the active smoker. This extrapolation yields
estimates of an expected lung cancer risk that approximate the
observed lung cancer risk in epidemiologic studies of involuntary
smoking.

Cigarette smoke is well established as a human carcinogen. The
chemical composition of EI'S is qualitatively similar to mainstream
smoke and aidestream smoke and also acts as a carcinogen in
bioassay systems. For many nonsmokers, the quantitative exposure
to ETS is large enough to expect an increased risk of lung cancer to
occur, and epidemiologic studies have demonstrated an increased
lung cancer risk with involuntary smoking. In examining a low-dose
exposure to a known carcinogen, it is rare to have such an
abundance of evidence on which to make a judgment, and given this
abundance of evidence, a clear judgment can now be made: exposure
to ETS is a cause of lung cancer.
The data presented in this Report establish that a substantial
number of the lung cancer deaths that occur among nonsmokers can
be attributed to involuntary smoking. However, better data on the
extent and variability of ETS exposure are needed to estimate the
number of deaths with confidence.
Respiratory Disease
Acute and chronic respiratory diseases have also been linked to
involuntary exposure to tobacco smoke; the,evidence is strongest in
infants. During the first 2 years of life, infants of parents who smoke
are more likely than infants of nonsmoking parents to be hospital-
ized for bronchitis and pneumonia. Children whose parents smoke
also develop respiratory symptoms more frequently, and they show
small, but measurable, differences on tests of lung function when
compared with children of nonsmoking parents.
Respiratory infections in young children represent a direct health
burden for the children and their parents; moreover these infec-
tions, and the reductions in pulmonary function found in the school-
age children of smokers, may increase susceptibility to develop lung
diseased as an adult.
Several studies have reported small decrements in the average
level of lung function in nonsmoking adults exposed to ETS. These
differences may represent a response of the lung to chronic exposure
to the irritants in ETS, but it seems unlikely that ETS exposure, by
itself, is responsible for a substantial number of cases of clinically
significant chronic obstructive lung disease. The small magnitude of
the changes associated with ETS exposure suggests that only
individuals with unusual susceptibility would be at risk of develop-
ing clinically evident disease from ETS exposure alone. However,
ETS exlrnure may be a factor that contributes to the development of
clinical disease in individuals with other causes of lung injury.
Cardiovascular Disease
A few studies have examined the relationship between involun-
tary smoking and cardiovascular disease, but no firm conclusion on

the relationship can be made owing to the limited number of deaths
in the studies.
Irritation
Perhaps the most common effect of tobacco smoke exposure is
tissue irritation. The eyes appear to be especially sensitive to
irritation by ETS, but the nose, throat, and airway may also be
affected by smoke exposure. Irritation has been demonstrated to
occur at levels that are similar to those found in real-life situations.
The level of irritation increases with an increasing concentration of
smoke and duration of exposure. In addition, participants in surveys
report irritation and annoyance dueto smoke in the environment
under real-life situations.
Determinants of Exposure
Exposure to ETS has been documented to be common in the
United States, but additional data on the extent and determinants of
exposure are needed to identify individuals within the population
who have the highest exposure and are at greatest risk. Studies with
biological markers and measurements of ETS components in indoor
air confirm that measurable exposure to ETS is widespread. How-
ever, within exposed populations, levels of cotinine excretion and
presumably ETS exposure vary greatly.
In a room or other indoor area, the size of the space, the number of
smokers, the amount of ventilation, and other factors determine the
concentration of tobacco smoke in the air. The technology for the
cost-effective filtration of tobacco smoke from the air is not currently
available, and because of their small size, the smoke particles remain
suspended in tl.ie air for long periods of time; thus, the onlyy way to
remove smoke from indoor air is to increase the exchange of indoor
air with clean outdoor air. The number of air changes per hour
required to maintain acceptable indoor air quality is much higher
when smoking is allowed than when smoking is prohibited.
Environmental tobacco smoke originates at the lighted tip of the
cigarette, and exposure to ETS is greatest in close proximity to the
smoker. However, the smoke rapidly disseminates throughout any
airspace contiguous with the space in which the smoking is taking
place. Dissemination of smoke is not uniform, and substantial
gradients in ETS levels have been demonstrated in different parts of
the same airspace. The time course of tobacco smoke dissemination
is rapid enough to ensure the spread of smoke throughout an
airspace within an 8-hour workday. In the home, the presence of
even one smoker can significantly increase levels of respirable
suspended particulates.
These data lead to the conclusion that the simple separation of
smokers and nonsmokers within the same airspace will reduce, but

not eliminate, exposure to !;l'S, particularly in those settinge where
exposure is prolonged, such as the working environment.
The exposure of an individual nonsmoker to ETS is also deter-
mined by that person's time-activity pattern; that is, the amount of
time spent in various locations. For adults, the duration of time
spent in smoke-contaminated environments at work or at home is
the principal determinant of ETS exposure, along with the levels of
smoke in those environments. For infants and very young children,
the smoking habit of the primary caretaker, as well as that person's
time-activity pattern, is likely to play a major role in determining
ETS exposure.
Policies Restricting Smoking
Policies regulating cigarette smoking with the objective of reduc-
ing explosion or Gre risk, or of safeguarding the quality of manufac-
tured products, have been in force in a number of States since the
late 1800s. More recently, and with steadily increasing frequency,
policies regulating smoking on the basis of the health risk or the
irritation of involuntary smoking have been promulgated.
State and local governments have enacted laws and regulations
restricting smoking in public places. These policies have been
implemented with few problems and at little cost to the respective
governments. The public awareness of these policies that results
from the media coverage surrounding their implementation proba-
bly facilitates their self-enforcement. Public awareness may best be
fostered by encouraging the establishment of these changes at the
local level.
Policies limiting smoking in the worksite have also become
increasingly widespread and more restrictive. However, changes in
worksiUe policies have evolved largely through voluntary rather
than governmental action. In a steadily increasing number of
worksites, smoking has been prohibited completely or litnited too
relatively few areas within the worksite. The creation of a smoke-
free workplace has proceeded successfully when the policy has been
jointly developed by employees, employee organizations, and man-
agement; instituted in phases; and accompanied by support and
assistance for the smokers to quit smoking.
This trend to protect nonsmokers from ETS exposure may have an
added public health benefit-helping those smokers who are at-
tempting to quit to be more successful and not encouraging smoking
by people entering the workforce.
Summary and Conclusions of the 1986 Report
The three major conclusions of this report are the following:

1. Involuntary smuking is a cause of disease, including
lung cancer, in healthy nonsmokers.
2. The children of parents who smoke compared with the '
children of nonsmoking parents have an increased
frequency of respiratory infections, increased respira-
tory symptoms, and slightly smaller rates of increase in
lung function aa the lung matures.
3. The simple separation of smokers and nonsmokers
within the same air space may reduce, but does not
eliminate, the exposure of nonsmokers to environmen
tal tobacco smoke.
Individual chapter summaries and conclusions follow.
Health Effects of Environmental Tobacco Smoke Exposure
1. Involuntary smoking can cause lung cancer in nonsmokers.
2. Although a substantial number of the lung cancers that occur
in nonsmokers can be attributed to involuntary smoking, more
data on the dose and distribution of ETS exposure in the
population are needed in order to accurately estimate the
magnitude of risk in the U.S. population.
3. The children of parents who smoke have an increased frequen-
cy of hospitalization for bronchitis and pneumonia during the
first year of life when compared with the children of nonsmok-
ers.
4. The children of parents who smoke have an increased frequen-
cy of a variety of acute respiratory illnesses and infections,
including chest illnesses before 2 years of age and physician-
diagnosed bronchitis, tracheitis, and laryngitis, when com-
pared with the children of nonsmokers.
5. Chronic cough and phlegm are more frequent in children
whose parents smoke compared with children of nonsmokers.
The implications of chronic respiratory symptoms for respira-
tory health as an adult are unknown and deserve further
study.
6. The children of parents who smoke have small differences in
tests of pulmonary function when compared with the children
of nonsmokers. Although this decrement is insufficient to
cause symptoms, the possibility that it may increase suscepti-
bility to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with exposure
to other agents in adult life, e.g., active smoking or occupation-
al exposures, needs investigation.
7. }{ealthy adults exposed to environmental tobacco smoke may
have small changes on pulmonary function testing, but are
unlikely to experience clinically significant deficits in pulmo-

nary function as a result of exposure to environmental tobacco
smoke alone.
8. A number of studies report that chronic middle ear effusions
are more common in young children whose parents smoke than
in children of nonsmoking parents.
9. Validated questionnaires are needed for the assessment of
recent and remote exposure to environmental tobacco smoke in
the home, workplace, and other environments.
10. The associations between cancers, other than cancer of the
lung, and involuntary smoking require further investigation
before a determination can be made about the relationship of
involuntary smoking to these cancers.
11. Further studies on the relationship between involuntary
smoking and cardiovascular disease are needed in order to
determine whether involuntary smoking increases the risk of
cardiovascular disease.
Environmental Tobacco Smoke Chemistry and Exposures of
Nonsmokers -
1. Undiluted sidestream smoke is characterized by significantly
higher concentrations of many of the toxic and carcinogenic
compounds found in mainstream smoke, including ammonia,
volatile amines, volatile nitrosamines, certain nicotine decom-
position products,,and aromatic amines.
2. Environmental tobacco smoke can be a substantial contributor
to the level of indoor air pollution concentrations of respirable
particles, benzene, acrolein, N-nitrosamine, pyrene, and carbon
monoxide. ETS is the only source of nicotine and some N-
nitrosamine compounds in the general environment.
3. Measured exposures to respirable suspended particulates are
higher for nonsmokers who report exposure to environmental
tobacco smoke. Exposures to E'I'S occur widely in the non-
smoking population.
4. The small particle size of environmental tobacco smoke places
it in the diffusion-controlled regime of movement in air for
deposition and removal mechanisms. Because these submicron
particles will follow air streams, convective currents will
dominate and the distribution of ETS will occur rapidly
through the volume of a room. As a result, the simple
separation of smokers and nonsmokers within the same
airspace may reduce, but will not eliminate, exposure to ETS.
5. It has been demonstrated that ETS has resulted in elevated
respirable suspended particulate levels in enclosed places.

Deposition and Absorption of Tobacco Smoke Constituents
1. Absorption of tobacco-specific smoke constituents (i.e., nicotine)
from environmental tobacco smoke exposures has been docu-
mented in a number of samples of the general population of
developed countries, suggesting that measurable exposure to
environmental tobacco smoke is common.
2. Mean levels of nicotine and cotinine in body fluids increase
with self-reported ETS exposure.
3. Because of the stability of cotinine levels measured at different
times during exposure and the availability of noninvasive
sampling techniques, cotinine appears to be the short-term
marker of choice in epidemiological studies.
4. Both mathematical modeling techniques and experimental
data suggest that 10 to 20 percent of the particulate fraction of
sidestream smoke would be deposited in the airway.
5. The development of specific chemical assays for human expo-
sure to the components of cigarette tar is an important
research goal.
Toxicity, Acute Irritant Effects, and Carcinogenicity of
Environmental Tobacco Smoke
1. The main effects of the irritants present in ETS occur in the
conjunctiva of the eyes and the mucous membranes of the nose,,
throat, and lower respiratory tract. These irritant effects are a
frequent cause of complaints about poor air quality due too
environmental tobacco smoke.
2. Active cigarette smoking is associated with prominent changes
in the number, type, and function of respiratory epithelial and
inflammatory cells; the potential for environmental tobacco
smoke exposure to produce similar changes should be investi-
gated.
3. Animal models have demonstrated the carcinogencity of ciga-
rette smoke, and the limited data that exist suggest that more
carcinogenic activity per milligram of cigarette smoke concen-
trate may be contained in sidestream smoke than in main-
stream cigarette smoke.
Policies Restricting Smoking in Puulic Places and the.
Workplace
1. Beginning in the 1970s, an increasing number of public and
private sector institutions have adopted policies to prot'ect
individuals from environmental tobacco smoke exposure by
restricting the circumstances in which smoking is permitted.
2. Smoking in public places has been regulated primarily byy
government actions, which have occurred at Federal, Stale,.

and local levels. All but nine States have enacted laws
regulating smoking in at least one public place. Since the mid-
1970s, there has been an increase in the rate of enactment and
in the comprehensiveness of State legislation. Local govern-
ments have enacted smoking ordinances at an increasing rate
since 1980; more than 80 cities and counties have smoking laws
in effect.
3. Smoking at the workplace is regulated by a combination of
government action and private initiative. Legislation in 12
States regulates smoking by government employees, and 9
States and more than 70 communities regulate smoking in the
private sector workplace. Approximately 35 percent of busi-
nesses have adopted smoking policies. The increase in work-
place smoking policies has been a trend of the 1980s.
4. Smoking policies may have multiple effects. In addition to
reducing' environmental tobacco smoke exposure, they may
alter smoking behavior and public attitudes about tobacco use.
Over time, this may contribute to a reduction in smoking in the
United States. To the present, there has been relatively little
systematic evaluation of policies restricting smoking in public
places or at the workplace.
5. On the basis of case reports and a small number of systematic
studies, it appears that workplace smoking policies improve air
quality, are met with good compliance, and are well accepted
by both smokers and nonsmokers. Policies appear to be
followed by a decrease in smokers' cigarette consumption at
work and an increase in enrollment in company-sponsored
smoking cessation programs.
6. Laws restricting smoking in public places have been imple-
mented with few problems and at little cost to State and local
government. Their impact on smoking behavior and attitudes
has not yet been evaluated.
7. Public opinion polls document strong and growing support for
restricting or banning smoking in a wide range of public places.
Changes in attitudes about smoking in public appear to have
preceded legislation, but the interrelationship of smoking
attitudes, behavior, and legislation are complex.
