The US Environmental Protection Agency recently classed passive smoke as a Category 1 carcinogen, recognising that it is a substance for which there is sufficient evidence of a causal relationship with cancer in humans, and concluding that it is as dangerous a carcinogen as asbestos, benzene and radon.
Passive smoking is most significant in enclosed spaces.
Passive smoking is one of the five priority areas to be addressed in the NSW Drug Strategy 1993-1998. Among the initiatives being developed and implemented to reduce the harm associated with passive smoking are the NSW QUIT campaign Keep Cigarette Smoke Away From Children, and the adoption of the National Guidance Note on Passive Smoking in the Workplace, which states that smoking should not occur in the workplace. The issue of passive smoking will also be dealt with by NSW Health strategies to reduce tobacco related harm in the community. This includes initiatives such as the active discouragement of youth from starting and continuing to use tobacco. SoE information compiled 1995.