New Surgeon General’s Report on Secondhand Smoke

The Surgeon General’s Report concludes that there is no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke. Exposure to secondhand smoke increases the risk of developing heart disease and lung cancer in nonsmoking adults and is a known cause of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), respiratory problems, ear infections, and asthma attacks in infants and children.

Copies of The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke: A Report of the Surgeon General and related materials are available on the Surgeon General’s Web site at www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/secondhandsmoke/.

Health Insurance Coverage

Approximately 41.2 million U.S. residents, or 14.2%, of the U.S. population, had no health insurance at a point in time in 2005, demonstrating a small improvement over 2004, according to a survey published by the National Center for Health Statistics.

"Health Insurance Coverage: Estimates from the National Health Interview Survey, 2005" http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhis/earlyrelease/insur200606.pdf