European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - December 22, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse                                To your health when smoke gets in your Evucci to by Gayle Young United press International from the tip of a cigarette rises a Stream Ottar. Nicotine Carbon monoxide and other hazardous  smoker will inhale one third of this smoke but the rest goes into the environment where it can be inhaled by nonsmokers. It is difficult to say if this is a major health problem for  said or Ira Tager. Associate professor of Medicine at the University of California at san Francisco. Ii you look at the health effects they May appear  he said but when you look at the number of people Cupo sed. Ihen it is potentially a Maior  since the mid-1970 s. A number of studios have Alle pled to measure inc health consequences of cigarette smoke on nonsmokers who Are exposed to it none of the studies have absolutely concluded that sides Ream smoke is a health Hazard but taken together they indicate cigarette smoke is a potential problem Lor people cons ally exposed to it especially children researchers say la s not straightforward and  said Tager. An expert in the Field but the studies Are consistent nonsmokers May be affected by the smoke from nearby cigarettes. Even though one does t Settle the Issue once and for All Tager said it is estimated a smoker is 20 times More Likely than a nonsmoker to die of lung ailments and a nonsmoker continuously exposed to cigarette smoke is 1.5 times More Likely to die of lung disease than someone who is not exposed to smoke. B it How much exposure is too much some researchers contend any exposure to the harmful elements of cigarette smoke is too much. But others say the answer is nol Clear. We May never know Tager said we Don t live in a Laboratory. It s difficult to measure How much cigarette smoke an individual is exposed to Over their lifetime " according to the american lung association every time someone lights a cigarette or pipe tobacco smoke enters the atmosphere from two sources the sides Ream smoke from the tip of the cigarette and the mainstream smoke which is inhaled then exhaled into the environment studies show there is twice As much tar and nicotine key questions to ask during a physical exam associated press the three most important questions Tobe asked during a physical examination Are what is my cholesterol level7, what Ismy blood sugar Leveland what is my blood pressure9, according to or. William Castelli director of the Framingham heart study on cholesterol. Castelli along with most doctors believe the answers to those questions provide an overview of physical health and. Depending on results May indicate important irregularities. A cholesterol level of 250 or above gets into the High risk area of developing heart disease according to the National heart lung and blood Institute and the american heart association dietary changes As suggested by your doctor can bring the level Down or a cholesterol lowering medication May be press nod blood sugar Levels indicate the amount of glucose in the blood in a Check Lor diabetes Wilh regular sell blood glucose monitoring diabetics can learn to manage their condition and possibly avoid complications. Estimates Are that High blood pressure or hypertension contributes to the deaths of 550,000 americans each year a hypertensive patient is defined by National institutes of health standards As one with a blood pressure Reading of 140-90, while the United nations sponsored world health organization s Standard is 160 95 the first number a systolic Reading measures How much pressure the blood is exerting again the Walls of the vessels during a heartbeat the second number the dial och Reading measures the same pressure in blood vessel Walls Between heartbeats in the Sid Stream smoke emitted directly into the atmosphere than there is in inc smoke inhaled by the smoker through a filler researchers Are Quick to Point out Cigar testes Are much More damaging to smokers than to nonsmokers sides Ream smoke is diluted in the air they said while smokers repeatedly inhale a steady More concentrated Stream however studies have indicated Sid Stream smoke May affect nonsmokers who Are nearby Carbon monoxide one of the compounds in smoke can enter the bloodstream of a nonsmoker through the lungs and remain Lor up to four hours according to the lung association As the amount in the blood increases the body becomes starved Tor oxygen the association said other compounds Many known to cause cancer can be measured in smoke tilled room although there has been no definite link Between lung cancer and secondhand smoke there May be cause for concern according to the lung association it reports some studies suggest the nonsmoking wives of men who Smoko arc Al a higher risk of lung cancer than women no live with nonsmokers As for smoke in the workplace studies of nonsmokers who say the have been exposed to tobacco smoke Al work Tor Many years show a statistically significant increase in lung problems which researchers say Are probably attributable to Side Stream  effects of smoke on children seem More Clear Cut. Babies and Young children breathe More rapidly than adults and inhale More air in comparison to their total body size according to the lung association some researchers contend youngsters inhale iwo to three limes As much of a poll land per unil of body weight compared to adults a number of studies have shown babies of parents who smoke at Home have a much higher incidence of bronchitis and pneumonia than do babies born to nonsmoking parents other studies have shown asthma attacks can be in gored in children by smoke from their parents cigarettes although the link Between Side Stream smoke and health problems in the nonsmoker is tenuous the nuisance a elects of cigarette smoke Are apparent to Many researchers sad cigarette smoke produces ammonia and a nine both irritants that have unpleasant doors and because of the High electrical potential of cigarette smoke it lends to gravitate and cling to people much the same Way Iron is drawn to a Magnet tuesday. December 22. 1987 the stars and stripes Page 17