side stream or exhaled mainstream smoke emitted from a smoker. In 1986, involuntary smoking was the focus of an entire surgeon general's report, The Health Consequences of Involuntary Smoking. The 1986 report concluded that involuntary smoking was dangerous to everyone, not just those with heart and lung disease. The report documented that repeated exposure to smoke from cigarettes caused lung cancer and was associated with adverse respiratory effects, especially in children. The report also explained that simply separating smokers and nonsmokers who shared the same air did not protect them from secondhand smoke exposure (Koop, 1986). The 2006 surgeon general's report confirmed these findings, stating that ventilation systems are not a safe or financially viable option to separate nonsmokers from secondhand smoke (U.S.

This study presents a method for better understanding how practicing health educators in local health departments spend their time. The purpose of this study was to document the daily practice of health educators in the 10 areas of responsibility as defined by a competency-based framework for graduate-level health educators. The results of the current study present the average percentage of time health educators spent carrying out each area of responsibility and the percentage of health educators that did not carry out activities related to a specific area of responsibility. For example, the greatest percentage of time was spent implementing programs (21.2%), and approximately 60% of the health educators in the sample did not conduct research nor did they participate in activities to advance the profession. These findings have implications for the professional preparation of health educators and for their continuing education. The current study contains several suggestions for future research in this area.

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The purpose of this study was to provide a profile of the public health education workforce in North Carolina. A survey was administered to all practicing health educators at local health departments (LHDs) in North Carolina. The study specifically attempted to answer four questions: (1) Who functions as health educators in LHDs in North Carolina? (2) What is the educational background and professional training of North Carolina LHD health educators? (3) What are the characteristics of health educators' positions in North Carolina? and (4) How do these characteristics of health educators (demographics and education) as well as their titles, job responsibilities, and supervisory relationships differ according to the size of the LHD? The study showed that most public health educators in North Carolina are white females; most do not have Certified Health Education Specialist certification; that younger health educators are more likely to have health education degrees; and that almost two thirds of public health educators have administrative responsibilities.