Second-hand smoke study released in Las Vegas

Art Nadler

Tuesday, Sept. 9, 1997 | 9:55 a.m.

When nonsmokers are exposed to smoky environments, traces of a cancer-causing substance can be detected in their bodies, a new study shows.

The study, released today at the 214th American Chemical Society national meeting at Las Vegas Convention Center, was conducted by Dr. Stephen Hecht of the University of Minnesota Cancer Center.

Nine nonsmoking hospital workers at a Canadian veterans hospital were screened three times a day for one day. Patients were smoking in designated areas of the hospital.

All workers -- doctors, nurses and orderlies -- showed traces of NNK in their urine. This is the abbreviation for the cancer-causing substance 4-(methylnitrosamino) -1- (3-pyridyl) -1- butanone.

"This forms a link between the chemistry and toxicology in smoking," Hecht said. "This shows that nonsmokers actually take up NNK."

On average, 160,000 people die each year from cancer, Hecht said. Of those, 16,000 deaths occur in nonsmokers. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that 3,000 of these nonsmoking deaths are caused by secondhand smoke.

While no one knows at what level NNK becomes dangerous, this study supports the concept that a person should avoid tobacco environments, Hecht said.

"This certainly has to be addressed in Nevada," said Mandy Canales-Salazar, program director for the American Cancer Society in Las Vegas. "There are so many people in this industry (casinos) who are exposed to secondhand smoke on a day-to-day basis. These individuals are being put at risk for illness."

She said 13 percent of lung cancers occur in people who don't smoke and are exposed to secondhand smoke. The American Cancer Society has always felt secondhand smoke is dangerous, she said.

Hecht plans to conduct a larger, longer study to further substantiate his findings.

Hecht said future findings would prove useful in determining harmful effects on children in homes where parents smoke.

"This was a small study, but it established the principle," Hecht said. "The very casual exposure to tobacco smoke is inevitable. But in cases where you have long-term exposure, that should be avoided."