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Just 30mins passive smoking is dangerous

Inhaling second-hand smoke for as little as half-an-hour damages blood vessels and can lead to heart attacks and strokes, a study has found.

Spending just a short period in a smoky environment is 'injurious to health' – even in lifelong nonsmokers. And the cells which repair tissue damage are themselves killed off by tobacco smoke, researchers said. Worse still, prolonged or repeated bouts of passive smoking can cause irreparable damage and increase the risk of heart disease by 33 per cent.

Passive smoking has long been known to cause ill-health in non-smokers and was the main driving force behind last year's ban on smoking in public places. But the new study, which subjected non-smokers to pre-ban levels of pub smoke, surprised researchers because of the very short period required to cause damage. Researcher Dr Yerem Yeghiazarians said: 'It is quite amazing that only 30 minutes of exposure could cause such demonstrable effects.'

The effects of half-an-hour's passive smoking last for 24 hours but sustained exposure can lead to heart attacks, strokes and high blood pressure – as well as de-activating repair cells. Dr Yeghiazarians, of California University, added: 'It's a double hit: not only does a person develop blood vessel injury but the cells that help repair this damage are themselves dysfunctional.' The study explains why there is a 20 per cent drop in heart attack admissions in places which pass smoking bans, he said.

Source: The Metro, 6th May 2008
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