Environmental tobacco smoke and cardiovascular disease. A position paper from the Council on Cardiopulmonary and Critical Care, American Heart Association.

Abstract

Although the number of cardiovascular deaths associated with environmental tobacco smoke cannot be predicted with absolute certainty, the available evidence indicates that environmental tobacco smoke increases the risk of heart disease. The effects of environmental tobacco smoke on cardiovascular function, platelet function, neutrophil function, and plaque formation are the probable mechanisms leading to heart disease. The risk of death due to heart disease is increased by about 30% among those exposed to environmental tobacco smoke at home and could be much higher in those exposed at the workplace, where higher levels of environmental tobacco smoke may be present. Even though considerable uncertainty is a part of any analysis on the health affects of environmental tobacco smoke because of the difficulty of conducting long-term studies and selecting sample populations, an estimated 35,000-40,000 cardiovascular disease-related deaths and 3,000-5,000 lung cancer deaths due to environmental tobacco smoke exposure have been predicted to occur each year. The AHA's Council on Cardiopulmonary and Critical Care has concluded that environmental tobacco smoke is a major preventable cause of cardiovascular disease and death. The council strongly supports efforts to eliminate all exposure of nonsmokers to environmental tobacco smoke. This requires that environmental tobacco smoke be treated as an environmental toxin, and ways to protect workers and the public from this health hazard should be developed. According to a 1989 Gallup survey commissioned by the American Lung Association, 86% of nonsmokers think that environmental tobacco smoke is harmful and 77% believe that smokers should abstain in the presence of nonsmokers.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

An experimental investigation of tobacco smoke pollution in cars

“…TSP is responsible for the preventable morbidity and mortality of hundreds of thousands of nonsmokers worldwide ( ( Glantz & Parmley, 1995 ;Law, Morris, & Wald, 1997 ;Taylor, Johnson, & Kazemi, 1992 ). Recently, a review of the epidemiological evidence concluded that TSP was associated with a signifi cant increase in breast cancer among premenopausal women ( California Environmental Protection Agency, Air Resources Board, 2005 ).…”

“…TSP is responsible for the preventable morbidity and mortality of hundreds of thousands of nonsmokers worldwide ( California Environmental Protection Agency, Air Resources Board, 2005 ;Fellows, Trosclair, Adams, & Rivera, 2002 ;Jamrozik, 2005 ;Klerman, 2004 ;National Cancer Institute, 1999 Kirkbride, & Mao, 1987 ;Woodward, Hill, & Blakey, 2004 ). TSP has been found to be a cause of lung cancer ( National Research Council, 1986 ; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [USDHHS], 1986 ) and heart disease ( Glantz & Parmley, 1995 ;Law, Morris, & Wald, 1997 ;Taylor, Johnson, & Kazemi, 1992 ). Recently, a review of the epidemiological evidence concluded that TSP was associated with a signifi cant increase in breast cancer among premenopausal women ( California Environmental Protection Agency, Air Resources Board, 2005 ).…”

Effects of l -Arginine on Atherogenesis and Endothelial Dysfunction due to Secondhand Smoke

“…Epidemiological studies demonstrate an increase in coronary artery disease (CAD) events and mortality with exposure to SHS. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7] Pooled analysis of the best-controlled studies of SHS suggests that SHS results in a relative risk of dying from heart disease as high as 1.7 (95% CI, 1.3 to 2.3). 2,4 The estimated cardiac mortality in the United States from SHS exposure is 53 000 deaths per year, [1][2][3][4] primarily from cardiovascular effects.…”

Ambiente e pulmão

“…Estas crianças têm uma maior incidência de doenças das vias aéreas inferiores, nomeadamente pneumonias, bronquiolites e bronquites, nos dois primeiros anos de vida. Também os sintomas respiratórios são mais frequentes entre os filhos de fumadores (43,44) .…”