Second-hand smoke indoors causes respiratory illness in millions of children annually - it may contribute to as many as 3,000 deaths from lung cancer and 62,000 deaths from heart disease among adults each year.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that second-hand smoke indoors causes respiratory illness in millions of children annually and may contribute to as many as 3,000 deaths from lung cancer and 62,000 deaths from heart disease among adults each year.
Studies also show that while smokers develop habits that allow them to cough and free their lungs of inhaled tobacco, nonsmokers are less aware of the volume of smoke in the atmosphere and unconsciously breathe in secondhand smoke at higher degrees than smokers.
But researchers haven't been able to pinpoint at what level a concentration of smoke outdoors increases a person's risk of disease, says Derek Raghavan, director of the Cleveland Clinic/Taussig Cancer Center in Ohio. Studies haven't indicated how many smokers could, during a given time period, accumulate a concentration of smoke that might endanger a nonsmoker's health.
The lack of hard data hasn't stopped lawmakers from banning smoking to accommodate nonsmoker comfort inside public and private places or to reduce litter from cigarette buds on the streets, parks or on beaches.
Thirty-one states ban smoking indoors at work places, and 12 prohibit smoking in public places, including restaurants, bars, clubs and some casinos. California, the first state to ban smoking inside public places, also leads the nation in outdoor restrictions.
More than a dozen cities and towns along the California coast prohibit smoking on beaches, with varying degrees of enforcement. And earlier this year, California declared secondhand smoke to be a toxic air pollutant. That means that, as with other designated toxins, such as vehicle exhaust and industrial air pollutants, the California Environmental Protection Agency must work with the state, local governments or industries to reduce public exposure. It's unclear what measures the state will take, but the process of coming up with a strategy to reduce nonsmoker risk could take two or three years.

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