This book comprehensively covers the science and policy issues relevant to one of the major public health disasters of modern times. It pulls together the aetiology and burden of the myriad of tobacco related diseases with the successes and failures of tobacco control policies. The book looks at lessons learnt to help set health policy for reducing the burden of tobacco related diseases. The book also deals with the international public health policy issues which bear on control of the problem of tobacco use and which vary between continents. The editors are an international group distinguished in the field of tobacco related diseases, epidemiology, and tobacco control. The contributors are world experts drawn from the various clinical fields. This major reference text gives a unique overview of one of the major public health problems in both the developed and developing world. The book is directed at an international public health and epidemiology audience includng health economists and those interested in tobacco control.

Data suggest that exposure to secondhand smoke can result in heart disease in nonsmoking adults. Recently, progress has been made in reducing involuntary exposure to secondhand smoke through legislation banning smoking in workplaces, restaurants, and other public places. The effect of legislation to ban smoking and its effects on the cardiovascular health of nonsmoking adults, however, remains a question. Secondhand Smoke Exposure and Cardiovascular Effects reviews available scientific literature to assess the relationship between secondhand smoke exposure and acute coronary events. The authors, experts in secondhand smoke exposure and toxicology, clinical cardiology, epidemiology, and statistics, find that there is about a 25 to 30 percent increase in the risk of coronary heart disease from exposure to secondhand smoke. Their findings agree with the 2006 Surgeon General's Report conclusion that there are increased risks of coronary heart disease morbidity and mortality among men and women exposed to secondhand smoke. However, the authors note that the evidence for determining the magnitude of the relationship between chronic secondhand smoke exposure and coronary heart disease is not very strong. Public health professionals will rely upon Secondhand Smoke Exposure and Cardiovascular Effects for its survey of critical epidemiological studies on the effects of smoking bans and evidence of links between secondhand smoke exposure and cardiovascular events, as well as its findings and recommendations.