McCarran airport named in report about secondhand smoke exposure
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Las Vegas, NV (KTNV) -- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report today about secondhand smoke exposure at five major airports, including McCarran International Airport.
According to the report, a study on air pollution levels was conducted in five large hub U.S. airports that allowing smoking in designated areas.
Those airports were McCarran, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Washington Dulles International Airport, Denver International Airport, and Salt Lake City International Airport.
The study by the CDC determined that air pollution levels inside designated smoking areas were 23 times higher than levels in smoke-free airports.
The air pollution levels were compared to those in completely smoke-free airports of comparable size: Chicago O'Hare International, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International, Orlando International, and Phoenix Sky Harbor International.
Results for individual airports were not released. A representative from CDC says it is typical in such a survey to de-identify the subjects.
A 2006 Surgeon General's Report concluded that there is no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke. Smoking was banned on all domestic and international commercial flights from a series of federal laws adopted from 1987 to 2000.
However, no federal policy requires airports to be smoke free.
Secondhand smoke causes heart disease and lung cancer in nonsmoking adults and is a known cause for several problems in young children.
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