Hobart, whose Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights tracks legislation across the country, said she expects the industry to use the new ruling in its high-profile fight to overturn a California law that bans smoking in the workplace, restaurants and in bars. But she predicted such efforts would result in a public backlash because people do not want to go back to smoke-filled environments. Indeed, just last week William Farone, who previously was director of applied research at Philip Morris Cos. Inc., issued a scathing report about the dangers of secondhand smoke to counteract the industry's efforts in California. Farone, who now heads his own company in Irvine, Calif., said that secret tobacco industry research in the 1980s showed that NNK, one of the most toxic materials in cigarette smoke, increases in a room due to the reaction between nicotine and oxides of nitrogen. The main difference between NNK and other poison gases such as a cloud of Sarin is that the NNK works slowly over time while the Sarin, at least in high dose, is relatively quick to kill.
Tobacco smoke kills people.
It's that simple. Whether by direct inhalation or secondhand, smoke from cigarettes, pipes and cigars is dangerous. There is a large, credible, established and continually growing body of evidence which documents the health hazards of secondhand smoke. However, the ruling late last week by Judge William Osteen in North Carolina plays right into the hands of the tobacco industry. This smacks of pro-tobacco politics, and it's a very unfortunate decision.