Will employers pay the price for passive smoking in the workplace? Andrew Buchan reports
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The first studies into injury caused by passive smoking date back to 1982 and involve the link between smoking and cancer for non-smokers living with a smoker. These showed an increased risk to health and were followed by obfuscation and denials of the link by the tobacco industry.
In 1993 the US Environmental Protection Agency published a comprehensive report in which, having reviewed 30 epidemiological studies, found a positive association of passive smoking and lung cancer and classified environmental tobacco smoke as a known human carcinogen. In 1994 air hostesses in Florida were allowed to bring an action against the Phillip Morris tobacco companies for “second-hand smoke”. This case is reported to have settled for £300m in 1996.
Second-hand smoke
A 1997 BMJ editorial entitled “Passive Smoking: History Repeats Itself” sets out the advice from the Royal College of Physicians going back to 1962 warning of the risks associated with passive smoking. The publicity given to the BMJ study was widespread (see BMJ
