AADanswer 111896

Answer: The American Heart Association (AHA) recently conducted the largest study ever on the risk of developing heart disease from passive smoking (i.e. secondhand smoke). The study found that people who never smoked but were married to a smoker had a 20% higher risk of dying from heart disease than those married to a nonsmoker.

Passive smoking may account for 35,000 to 40,000 deaths from cardiovascular disease each year in this country alone, according to the AHA!

For more about the effects of smoking on your health see my article, Is Your Health "Up in Smoke".

Charles H. Booras, MD

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