Raupach T, Schafer K, Konstantinides S, Andreas S. "Secondhand smoke as an acute threat for the cardiovascular system: a change in paradigm." Eur Heart J. 2006 Feb;27(4):386-92. Barnoya J, Glantz SA. "Cardiovascular effects of secondhand smoke: nearly as large as smoking." Circulation. 2005 May 24;111(20):2684-98. Pechacek TF, Babb S. "How acute and reversible are the cardiovascular risks of secondhand smoke?" Brit Med J. 2004 Apr 24;328(7446):980-3.
"Reduced Hospitalizations for Acute Myocardial Infarction After Implementation of a Smoke-Free Ordinance --- City of Pueblo, Colorado, 2002--2006" (CDC MMWR 57(#51);1373-1377, 2 January 2009) "Smoking Ban Spurs Drop in Heart Attacks, 41 Percent Drop in Hospitalized Cases Reported 3 Years After Pueblo, Colo. Adopts Ban" (CBS News, 31 December 2008).
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| "while the pulse is seventy-two among non-users, the average pulse of those addicted to the use of tobacco is eight-nine—an increase of about seventeen pulsations every minute. This is to say that to every 1,000 pulsations in those who do not use it, there would be 1,233 in those who do use it. The effect of such an increased action of the heart is very injurious, giving it increased labors and increasing the number of beats about 24,000 a day."—Luther H. Higley and Theodore Frech, The Evils of Tobacco and Cigarettes (Butler, Indiana: The Higley Printing Co, 1916), p 30. See also William Thayer Smith, Ph.D., Prof of Physiology, Dartmouth Medical College, Primer of Physiology and Hygiene: A Textbook for Primary Classes (New York: Ivison, Blakeman & Co, 1885), pp 46-48. |
Medical evidence shows that exposure to tobacco smoking conduct increases nonsmokers' risk of heart disease by 25%. See an example by Dr. Tidswell, supra, p 64. Smokers' risk of heart disease from smoking is increased 65%.
| "Passive smoking is a major and independent risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, being the third leading preventable cause of death after active smoking and alcohol." And, "the elastic properties of the large arteries play an important role in the function of the entire cardiovascular system. The aorta (the large artery that receives the blood ejected by the left ventricle) does not only serve as a conduit but plays a very important role modulating both (i) the function of the left ventricle (the power generator of the heart) and (ii) blood flow through the coronary arteries (the nutrient vessels of the heart itself)."
"Improved aortic elastic properties facilitate performance of the left ventricle and enhance coronary blood flow. It follows that any unfavorable effect on aortic elastic properties will contribute to the adverse effects of passive smoking on the cardiovascular system. Previous studies from our laboratory have shown that passive smoking acutely deteriorates aortic elastic properties (Annals of Internal Medicine 1998; 128:426-434)." "Passive smoking was associated with a significant decrease (approx. 20%) of aortic distensibility, a finding which denotes deterioration of the elastic properties, or in other words, stiffening of the aorta. The large arteries stiffen with passive smoking." "Because aortic elastic properties are major determinants of left ventricular power output, aortic stiffening with passive smoking burdens function of the heart itself. In addition, since aortic elastic properties influence coronary blood flow, decreased aortic distensibility compromises perfusion of the heart . . . . The impact of this deleterious effect of passive smoking may be greater in sensitive populations such as children or elderly or in patients who suffer from heart failure, coronary artery disease or hypertension." For more information, see Christodoulos Stefanadis MD, "Effect of passive smoking on the elastic properties of the human aorta: a non-invasive study." |
Related studies by Dr. John D. Folts of Seabrook Island, South Carolina, show that "smoking stimulates the formation of clots that reduce blood flow to such an extent that the heart beats out of control and causes sudden death. . . . his research shows that cigarette smoke overcomes the beneficial effects that aspirin has in preventing clots."—"Smoking Causes Clots, Reduces Blood to Heart," 28 Smoke Signals (#4) 8 (April 1982).
See also other pertinent studies:
Khalfen ES, and Klochkov VA, "Effect of Passive Smoking on the Physical Tolerance of Ischemic Heart Disease Patients," 59 Ter Arkh (Russ) 112-115 (1987) Davis JW, Shelton L, Watanabe IS, Arnold J, "Passive Smoking Affects Endothelium and Platelets," 149 Arch Intern Med 386-389 (1989) Glantz SA and Parmley WW, "Passive Smoking and Heart Disease: Epidemiology, Physiology, and Biochemistry," 83 Circulation 1-2 (1991) Feldman J, Shenker IR, Etzel RA, et al., "Passive Smoking alters Lipid Profiles in Adolescents," 88 Pediatrics 259-264 (1991) Anderson R, Theron AJ, Richards GA, Myer MS, van Rensburg AJ, "Passive Smoking by Humans Sensitizes Circulating Neutrophils," 144 Am J Resp Dis 570-574 (1991) Wells AJ, "Passive Smoking As A Cause of Heart Disease," 24 J Am Coll Cardiol 546-554 (1994) Lam JY, Latour JG, Lesperance J, and Waters D, "Platelet Aggregation, Coronary Artery Disease Progression and Future Coronary events," 73 Am J Cardiol 333-338 (1994) Glantz SA and Parmley WW, "Passive Smoking And Heart Disease: Mechanisms and Risks," 273 J Am Med Assn 1047-1053 (1995)
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Walking at 3 mph or faster at least three hours per week achieved the same reduction in heart disease risk as those who engaged in vigorous exercise such as aerobics, jogging or bicycling. "We've long known that walking was a great exercise for most Americans," said former U.S. surgeon general C. Everett Koop. "But this study shows the strong health benefit that it can have in protecting women against heart disease." Regular, vigorous physical activity helps cut the risk of heart disease. Federal guidelines call for 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity on most, if not all, days of the week. Estimates are, however, that 60 percent of Americans do not engage in regular exercise--one reason that rates of obesity and overweight have soared. "This study is important because it demonstrates that even moderate levels of exercise, something as simple as walking, can be equally protective against heart disease as more vigorous exercise," said Teri Manolio, director of the epidemiology biometry program at the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, which sponsored the study. "The important caveat is that the heart protection does not apply to casual strolling and window shopping at the mall," said JoAnn E. Manson, professor of medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and lead author of the study. Women who walked at 3 mph or faster showed the greatest reduction in heart disease risk. The study found only moderate health benefits from a pace of 2 mph to 2.9 mph, and there was virtually no heart protection from walking more slowly than 2 mph, Manson said. The study also underscores the heavy toll cigarettes take on the heart. Whereas smokers cut their heart disease risk with exercise, even the most physically active smokers had at least twice the coronary risk as the most sedentary nonsmokers. "It shows that it is much better to be a nonsmoker and a couch potato," said Meir Stampfer, a co-author of the study. "The number one priority is to quit smoking and then worry about physical activity." Walking appears to cut the risk of heart disease by reducing blood pressure, blood sugar and blood cholesterol levels. Walking also improves insulin sensitivity and reduces blood clot formation. "All have favorable effects on heart disease risk," Manson said. "It [the study] shows that it is much better to be a nonsmoker and a couch potato. The number one priority is to quit smoking and then worry about physical activity," according to Meir Stampfer, a co-author. Doing brisk walking along with other vigorous physical benefits had strong additive effects, the study found. "If you are already going to the gym every day, keep doing it," said Noel Baireymerz, chairman of the prevention committee for the American College of Cardiology. "But for all those people who say they can't exercise, this study is saying, 'Yes, you can, by doing brisk walking.'" "It just suggests that you don't need to be a marathon runner," Manson said. "If every woman were to adopt three hours a week of brisk walking, it would substantially reduce heart attack risk." One hour of brisk walking at 3 mph or more has roughly the same health benefit of:
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The tobacco problem is so severe, and worldwide, that the World Health Organization deems tobacco smoking conduct (alias environmental tobacco smoke) a real and substantial threat to health, causing death and suffering throughout the world, and an estimated 10 million casualties per year.
| 1798 | 1845 | 1882 | 1909 | 1912 | 1916 | 1929 |
Underlying the adverse impact of cigarettes' toxic chemicals on the body, damaging the immune system, is the fact that cigarettes contain well-established deleterious ingredients. This fact is so well-established in medicine that an appellate court took judicial notice of the fact, in the case of Banzhaf v F.C.C., 132 US App DC 14, 29; 405 F2d 1082, 1097 (1968) cert den 396 US 842 (1969). For details, the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Reducing the Health Consequences of Smoking: 25 Years of Progress: a Report of the Surgeon General, Publication CDC 89-8411, Table 7, pp 86-87 (1989), lists examples of deleterious ingredients including but not limited to:
| acetaldehyde (1.4+ mg) | arsenic (500+ ng) | benzo(a)pyrene (.1+ ng) |
| cadmium (1,300+ ng) | crotonaldehyde (.2+ µg) | chromium (1,000+ ng) |
| ethylcarbamate 310+ ng) | formaldehyde (1.6+ µg) | hydrazine (14+ ng) |
| lead (8+ µg) | nickel (2,000+ ng) | radioactive polonium (.2+ Pci) |
Actually, judicial notice of cigarettes' deleteriousness was taken as long ago as pursuant to an 1897 Tennessee law, in Austin v State, 101 Tenn 563; 566-7; 48 SW 305, 306; 70 Am St Rep 703 (1898) affirmed 179 US 343 (1900). Michigan soon thereafter passed a law banning unsafe cigarettes, law number MCL § 750.27, MSA § 28.216.
Due to cigarettes' deleterious nature and ingredients, they, when lit, emit deleterious emissions. The Department of Health, Education and Welfare (DHEW), Smoking and Health: Report of the Advisory Committee to the Surgeon General of the Public Health Service, PHS Pub 1103, Table 4, p 60 (1964), lists examples of deleterious emissions (contrasted to the chemicals' "speed limits" set by the safety rule 29 CFR § 1910.1000) including but not limited to:
| acetaldehyde | 3,200 ppm | |
| acrolein | 150 ppm | |
| ammonia | 300 ppm | |
| carbon monoxide | 42,000 ppm | |
| formaldehyde | 30 ppm | |
| hydrogen cyanide | 1,600 ppm | |
| hydrogen sulfide | 40 ppm | |
| methyl chloride | 1,200 ppm | |
| nitrogen dioxide | 250 ppm |
In view of the above data, we now know that an underlying factor in the massive adverse effects cigarettes cause, is that their vast quantities of toxic chemicals impair the immune system. The underlying fact about tobacco smoke is that its massive quantities of toxic chemicals cause
"mutations of cellular genetic structures, deviation of cellular characteristics from their optimal normal state [leading to] a body-wide spectrum of disease."—R. T. Ravenholt, M.D., M.P.H., writing in 307 N Eng J Med (5) 312 (29 July 1982)."Loss of activation of [normality] leads to a variety of immunologic disorders characterized by autoimmunity or immunodeficiency . . . Major immunologic abnormalities result from alterations in the mature T-cell subsets."—Ellis L. Reinherz, M.D. and Stuart F. Schlossman, M.D., "Regulation of the Immune Response--Inducer and Suppressor T-Lymphocyte Subsets in Human Beings," 303 N Engl J Med 370-373 (14 Aug 1980).
In the late 1930's, doctors ascertained significant data on smoking and heart disease. "The works of Dr. [Raymond] Pearl and of Drs. English, Willus and Berkson at the Mayo Foundation have been epochal in their significance, showing that coronary disease of the heart is six times as prevalent among heavy smokers as among nonsmokers and that the mortality rate among heavy smokers between the ages of thirty and fifty is approximately twice as high as that of nonsmokers. Dr. Pearl's report and graph in reference to the comparative death rates of smokers and nonsmokers were published in Science magazine on March 4, 1938, and the report of the Mayo medical scientists was published in The Journal of the American Medical Association on October 19, 1940."—Frank L. Wood, M.D., What You Should Know About Tobacco (Wichita, KS: The Wichita Publishing Co, 1944), p 33.
Dr. Wood reported that with almost no exceptions the media suppressed, censored and refused to report this data. He deemed this refusal of reporting to be a "malicious dereliction of duty," and that the "natural and probable consequence" of this censorship would be millions of deaths, people "who will go on smoking indefinitely, oblivious of the danger to their health and their very lives to which are" being subjected. Dr. Wood correctly saw that "through the influence of money and the tobacco companies, the press has suppressed or withheld the facts concerning tobacco toxicity from the American people." Wood, supra, p 33.
"Most smokers do not view themselves at increased risk of heart disease or cancer."—John P. Ayanian, M.D., M.P.P., Paul J. Cleary, Ph.D., "Perceived Risks of Heart Disease and Cancer Among Cigarette Smokers," 281 J Am Med Ass'n (11) 1019-1021 (17 March 1999). Wherefore they do not see the danger that smoking poses to nonsmokers. Wherefore nonsmokers' -- children and adults -- only advance protection is enforcement of pertinent cigarette control laws, including prosecution of the pushers on murder charges pursuant to the transferred intent doctrine. To protect YOU, seek prosecution for the deaths of smokers and other nonsmokers killed by cigarettes. After-the-fact prosecution of the killer(s) is too little, too late for those already deceased, but it can serve to protect you. Providing money damages to survivors, while essential and better than nothing, does not vindicate the laws against intentional poisonings and killings, does not fully protect YOU. To protect yourself, your family, indeed, all of us, it is essential that your area prosecutors be caused to enforce the laws against poisoning and murder.
In 1909, during the administration of three-term activist Governor Fred Warner, the Michigan legislature passed a law forbidding manufacture, giveaway, and sale of deleterious and adulterated cigarettes. (As with any other product, safe ones are allowed. The idea of the safe cigarettes law is to halt the fact that smokers are discriminated against by being the only people regularly sold a known deleterious ingredient. Other deleterious products are taken off the market as soon as deleteriousness is known. Smokers are thus the only group denied the benefit of standard product protection law.) The safe cigarettes law, MCL § 750.27, MSA § 28.216, bans
"any person within the state" from action that "manufactures, sells or gives to anyone, any cigarette containing any ingredient deleterious to health or foreign to tobacco . . . ."
Of course, due to cigarettes' other adverse effects, the law has the side benefit of potentially eliminating other cigarette adverse consequences as well, effects detailed at other sections of this website.
Pursuant to standard lawbook definitions, nonsmokers' involuntary foreseeable deaths constitute murder. The high number of deaths is a holocaust according to the Royal Society of Physicians' 1971 criteria, and is part of the total genocide problem. A Michigan law seeks to ban the underlying factor in the lifestyle of death. Michigan Governor Engler [1991-2002] and staff were paper supportive of action to enforce it, issuing five pertinent memoranda.
What this site is asking is your help in (a) getting the Michigan safe cigarettes law enforced, and (b) getting all other governments to pass the same law in their areas. Please help us save lives, prevent premature deaths, by preventing unsafe cigarettes and their posing a risk factor in heart disease.
To fight this problem, here are four sample letters. Sample "A" is to Governor Jennifer Granholm asking her to have the State Police enforce the law. Sample "B" is to Attorney General Michael Cox asking him to take "cease and desist" action to enforce the law. Each has the authority to help. As both the Governor and Attorney General are lawyers, the letters are written in "legalese." Sample letter "C" is to the State Police Director asking his agency personnel to enforce the law. Sample letter "D" is different, and is for you to send where the government still ignores the cigarette-heart disease link. It is to be sent, for example, to the President, Congress, other Governors, and state legislators.
Governor, State of Michigan
P. O. Box 30013
Lansing MI 48909-7513
Dear Governor Granholm:
This is a request that, to help prevent one of the risk factors in heart disease, you assign the Michigan State Police to enforce the safe cigarettes law, MCL § 750.27, MSA § 28.216.
Cigarettes are a risk factor in heart disease. Cigarettes' deleterious chemicals depress the immune system. So cigarettes are not only the general No. 1 cause of premature death, they also have a role as a risk factor in heart disease. Medical evidence shows that exposure to tobacco smoking conduct increases nonsmokers' risk of heart disease by 25%. Smokers' risk of heart disease from smoking is increased 65%.
"Coronary heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States . . . 1995 . . . 481,287 deaths . . . . To achieve a meaningful reduction in the burden to society of coronary heart disease, both passive and active smoking must be targeted . . . The only safe way to protect nonsmokers from exposure to cigarette smoke is to eliminate this health hazard from public places and workplaces, as well as from the home," see Jiang He, M.D., Ph.D., Suma Vupputuri, M.P.H., Krista Allen, M.P.H., Monica R. Prerost, M.S., Janet Hughes, Ph.D., and Paul K. Whelton, M.D., "Passive Smoking and The Risk of Coronary Heart Disease -- A Meta-Analysis of Epidemiolgic Studies," 340 N England J Med (12) 920-926 (25 March 1999).
The cigarette-heart disease link occurs because of cigarettes' numerous toxic chemicals. The safe cigarettes act, MCL § 750.27, MSA § 28.216, bans unsafe cigarettes. It forbids "any person within the state" from action that "manufactures, sells or gives to anyone, any cigarette containing any ingredient deleterious to health or foreign to tobacco . . . ." Please, as a heart disease prevention measure, assign the Michigan State Police to enforce it, and aid county sheriffs and local police departments to do likewise.
All cigarettes are deleterious, their label admits they are, and most if not all are adulterated with additives. MCL § 750.27, MSA § 28.216, puts personal responsibility on those with most knowledge of the contraband substance (manufacturers and sellers), not on unwary consumers, often children.
State Police enforcement action is a normal action that they do in other state-wide law violation situations. There are precedents as well. Austin v State, 101 Tenn 563; 48 SW 305; 70 Am St Rep 703 (1898) aff'd 179 US 343 (1898); Shimp v N J Bell Tele Co, 145 N J Super 516; 368 A2d 408 (1976); Commonwealth v Hughes, 468 Pa 502; 364 A2d 306 (1976); and Smith v Western Elec Co, 643 SW2d 10, 13 (Mo App, 1982).
As a matter of preventing heart disease, the Michigan safe cigarettes law needs to be enforced. Please help. The law against this deleterious and adulterated product needs to be enforced. Please assign the State Police to protect abulic smokers, children, and nonsmokers, by enforcing the safe cigarettes act, MCL § 750.27, MSA § 28.216. Please have them halt the rampant violations, and interdict deleterious and adulterated cigarettes.
Respectfully,
Honorable Michael Cox
Attorney General, State of Michigan
P. O. Box 30213
Lansing MI 48909
Dear Attorney General Cox:
This is a request that, to help prevent one of the risk factors in heart disease, you take "cease and desist" action to stop violations of the safe cigarettes law, MCL § 750.27, MSA § 28.216.
Cigarettes are a risk factor in heart disease. Cigarettes' deleterious chemicals depress the immune system. So cigarettes are not only the general No. 1 cause of premature death, they also have a role as a risk factor in heart disease. Medical evidence shows that exposure to tobacco smoking conduct increases nonsmokers' risk of heart disease by 25%. Smokers' risk of heart disease from smoking is increased 65%.
"Coronary heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States . . . 1995 . . . 481,287 deaths . . . . To achieve a meaningful reduction in the burden to society of coronary heart disease, both passive and active smoking must be targeted . . . The only safe way to protect nonsmokers from exposure to cigarette smoke is to eliminate this health hazard from public places and workplaces, as well as from the home," see Jiang He, M.D., Ph.D., Suma Vupputuri, M.P.H., Krista Allen, M.P.H., Monica R. Prerost, M.S., Janet Hughes, Ph.D., and Paul K. Whelton, M.D., "Passive Smoking and The Risk of Coronary Heart Disease -- A Meta-Analysis of Epidemiolgic Studies," 340 N England J Med (12) 920-926 (25 March 1999).
The cigarette-heart disease link occurs because of cigarettes' numerous toxic chemicals. The safe cigarettes act, MCL § 750.27, MSA § 28.216, bans unsafe cigarettes. It forbids "any person within the state" from action that "manufactures, sells or gives to anyone, any cigarette containing any ingredient deleterious to health or foreign to tobacco . . . ." Please, as a heart disease prevention measure, take "cease and desist" action to stop the rampant violations of the law. "Cease and desist" action is an action you take in other state-wide law violation cases. Please, as a heart disease prevention measure, do that in this situation.
All cigarettes are deleterious, their label admits they are, and most if not all are adulterated with additives. MCL § 750.27, MSA § 28.216, puts personal responsibility on those with most knowledge of the contraband substance (manufacturers and sellers), not on unwary consumers, often children.
"Cease and desist" action is a normal action that you do in other state-wide law violation situations. There are precedents, for example, Austin v State, 101 Tenn 563; 48 SW 305; 70 Am St Rep 703 (1898) aff'd 179 US 343 (1898); Shimp v N J Bell Tele Co, 145 N J Super 516; 368 A2d 408 (1976); Commonwealth v Hughes, 468 Pa 502; 364 A2d 306 (1976); and Smith v Western Elec Co, 643 SW2d 10, 13 (Mo App, 1982).
As a matter of preventing heart disease, the Michigan safe cigarettes law needs to be enforced. Please help. The law against this deleterious and adulterated product needs to be enforced. Please take "cease and desist" action to protect abulic smokers, children, and nonsmokers, by enforcing the safe cigarettes act, MCL § 750.27, MSA § 28.216. Please take "cease and desist" action to halt the rampant violations.
Respectfully,
Col. Peter C. Munoz, Director
Department of State Police
714 South Harrison Road
East Lansing MI 48823
Dear Col. Munoz:
Cigarettes are a risk factor in heart disease. Cigarettes' deleterious chemicals depress the immune system. So cigarettes are not only the general No. 1 cause of premature death, they also have a role as a risk factor in heart disease. Medical evidence shows that exposure to tobacco smoking conduct increases nonsmokers' risk of heart disease by 25%. Smokers' risk of heart disease from smoking is increased 65%.
"Coronary heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States . . . 1995 . . . 481,287 deaths . . . . To achieve a meaningful reduction in the burden to society of coronary heart disease, both passive and active smoking must be targeted . . . The only safe way to protect nonsmokers from exposure to cigarette smoke is to eliminate this health hazard from public places and workplaces, as well as from the home," see Jiang He, M.D., Ph.D., Suma Vupputuri, M.P.H., Krista Allen, M.P.H., Monica R. Prerost, M.S., Janet Hughes, Ph.D., and Paul K. Whelton, M.D., "Passive Smoking and The Risk of Coronary Heart Disease -- A Meta-Analysis of Epidemiolgic Studies," 340 N England J Med (12) 920-926 (25 March 1999).
The cigarette-heart disease link occurs because of cigarettes' numerous toxic chemicals. The safe cigarettes act, MCL § 750.27, MSA § 28.216, bans unsafe cigarettes. It forbids "any person within the state" from action that "manufactures, sells or gives to anyone, any cigarette containing any ingredient deleterious to health or foreign to tobacco . . . ." Please, as a heart disease prevention measure, work with prosecutors on this subject, assign officers to enforce the law, and aid county sheriffs and local police departments to do likewise.
All cigarettes are deleterious, their label admits they are, and most if not all are adulterated with additives. MCL § 750.27, MSA § 28.216, puts personal responsibility on those with most knowledge of the contraband substance (manufacturers and sellers), not on unwary consumers, often children.
State Police enforcement action is a normal action that officers do in other state-wide law violation situations. There are precedents as well. Austin v State, 101 Tenn 563; 48 SW 305; 70 Am St Rep 703 (1898) aff'd 179 US 343 (1898); Shimp v N J Bell Tele Co, 145 N J Super 516; 368 A2d 408 (1976); Commonwealth v Hughes, 468 Pa 502; 364 A2d 306 (1976); and Smith v Western Elec Co, 643 SW2d 10, 13 (Mo App, 1982).
As a matter of preventing heart disease, the Michigan safe cigarettes law needs to be enforced. Please help. The law against this deleterious and adulterated product needs to be enforced. Please assign officers to protect abulic smokers, children, and nonsmokers, by enforcing the safe cigarettes act, MCL § 750.27, MSA § 28.216. Please have them halt the rampant violations, and interdict deleterious and adulterated cigarettes.
Respectfully,
| President George W. Bush | U.S. Senator _______ | U.S. Representative __ | Governor ___ | State Senator __ | State Representative __ |
| 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue | Senate Office Building | House Office Building | State Capitol | State Capitol | State Capitol |
| Washington DC 20500 | Washington DC 20510 | Washington DC 20515 | City State Zip | City State Zip | City State Zip |
This is a request that you take action to get a law passed that will serve as a heart disease prevention law. Michigan already has such a law. It is law number MCL § 750.27, MSA § 28.216. It deals with the cigarette link to heart disease.
Cigarettes are a risk factor in heart disease. Cigarettes' deleterious chemicals depress the immune system. So cigarettes are not only the general No. 1 cause of premature death, they also have a role as a risk factor in heart disease. Medical evidence shows that exposure to tobacco smoking conduct increases nonsmokers' risk of heart disease by 25%. Smokers' risk of heart disease from smoking is increased 65%.
"Coronary heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States . . . 1995 . . . 481,287 deaths . . . . To achieve a meaningful reduction in the burden to society of coronary heart disease, both passive and active smoking must be targeted . . . The only safe way to protect nonsmokers from exposure to cigarette smoke is to eliminate this health hazard from public places and workplaces, as well as from the home," see Jiang He, M.D., Ph.D., Suma Vupputuri, M.P.H., Krista Allen, M.P.H., Monica R. Prerost, M.S., Janet Hughes, Ph.D., and Paul K. Whelton, M.D., "Passive Smoking and The Risk of Coronary Heart Disease -- A Meta-Analysis of Epidemiolgic Studies," 340 N England J Med (12) 920-926 (25 March 1999).
The cigarette-heart disease link occurs because of cigarettes numerous toxic chemicals. The Michigan safe cigarettes act, MCL § 750.27, MSA § 28.216, bans unsafe cigarettes. Please, as a heart disease prevention measure, get a copy of that law, which in essence forbids "any person within the state" from action that "manufactures, sells or gives to anyone, any cigarette containing any ingredient deleterious to health or foreign to tobacco . . . ."
All cigarettes are deleterious, their label admits they are, and most if not all are adulterated with additives. MCL § 750.27, MSA § 28.216, puts personal responsibility on those with most knowledge of the contraband substance (manufacturers and sellers), not on unwary consumers, often children. Michigan's well-written heart disease prevention act deals with one of the key risk factors, unsafe cigarettes, and bans them. We need the same law for the protection and benefit of everyone. Smokers should not be discriminated against by being the only people regularly sold a deleterious product. Other deleterious products are recalled and taken off the market.
As a matter of preventing heart disease, everyone needs you to take action to get a safe cigarettes act passed. Please take action to copy the Michigan safe cigarettes law, MCL § 750.27, MSA § 28.216, so all of us can benefit from its wise prevention-oriented approach.
Respectfully,
* * * * *
add your name and return address, sign, and mail the above letters.
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