Other Cancers

• Evidence continues to grow to support the detrimental health effects of second-hand smoke. Two independent studies have been released to show how seriously non-smokers' health can be affected by exposure to second-hand smoke, even by passive exposure in public places. A study from the University of Minnesota examined and found levels of cancer-causing agents in the urine of non-smokers after just four hours in a commercial casino. This study was published in the December 1, 2003 issue of Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention.

• Passive smoking may speed the growth of tumours by prompting new blood vessels to form, says a new study in Nature . The study finds that people, who regularly inhale second-hand smoke, either at work and/or at home, have a 20-30% greater risk of contracting lung cancer or heart disease.

• Research conducted in 1997 by the California Environmental Protection Agency shows that in addition to lung cancer, there is sufficient evidence to demonstrate a causal association between second-hand smoke exposure and nasal sinus cancer and that there is suggestive evidence that there is an association between involuntary exposure and cervical cancer.