Additional Evidence
Acute and Chronic Health Effects of Air Pollution
Read the following papers:
- Fine particulate air pollution and mortality in 20 US Cities, 1987-1994.
(Samet JS, Dominici F, et al. N. Engl. J. Med. 2000;343:1742-9.) - Air pollution and health — good news and bad.
(Pope CA III. Editorial in N. Engl. J. Med. 2004;351(11):1132-1134.) - Evaluating the effects of ambient air pollution on life expectancy.
(Krewski D. Editorial in N. Engl. J. Med. 2009;360(4):413-415.) - Ischemic and thrombotic effects of dilute diesel-exhaust inhalation in men with coronary heart disease.
(Mills NL et al. N. Engl. J. Med. 2007;357:1075-82.)
The Surgeon General Weighs the Evidence
What are the criteria that are widely used to make a judgment about causality?
(Resource: Causal Inference)
Review the 2006 Surgeon General's Report on The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke. Review pages 10 and 11, Evidence Evaluation and Major Conclusions, respectively. Note that in the electronic version of the PDF, this corresponds to pages 29 and 30.
Does the Surgeon General's report appear to rely on rigorous, specific criteria for inferring causality? Justify your opinion.
Power of the State
In your opinion, do states and municipalities have the authority to ban smoking in one's own apartment or condominium? What are the criteria by which the U.S. Supreme Court would judge this?
Denouement
Smoking Bans and Heart Attacks
As noted earlier, many states and municipalities enacted statutes or regulations that banned smoking in a variety of settings.
Read the following articles:
- Reduction in the incidence of acute myocardial infarction associated with a citywide smoking ordinance.
(Bartecchi C, Alseve RN, et al. Circulation. 2006;114:1490-1496.) - Smoking Bans Prevent Heart Attacks.
(Samet JM. Editorial in Circulation. 2006;114:1452-1454.)
After reading the articles listed above, consider the following questions.
- What type of study did Bartecchi and colleagues conduct?
- What are the limitations of this type of study?
- Reflect on the body of evidence that you have reviewed in this module. What conclusions have you reached?
Read the following to learn more about the case against environmental tobacco smoke and Galila Huff.
- Secondhand Smoke Exposure and Cardiovascular Effects: Making Sense of the Evidence is a report on ETS from the Institute of Medicine published in October 2009.
- Ansonia smoking lawsuit settled is a New York Times City Room article by Anemona Hartocollis that provides an overview of the litigation case against Galila Huff.
