British doctors came to the conclusion that passive smoking is even more dangerous than previously thought, according to the Internet publication for girls and women from 14 to 35 years old Pannochka. Net London researchers have watched more than 20 years for four and a half thousand men who regularly took blood samples for the content of cotinine, the decay product of nicotine, which enters the body with passive smoking. The higher the level of cotinine in the blood, the more thoroughly a person is exposed to the "secondary" smoke.

Physicians have determined that passive smoking increases the risk of heart disease by almost 50%. Previously it was believed that this level can be from 20 to 30%.

Combining these 50% with the figures determining the risk of lung cancer and respiratory diseases, scientists concluded that passive smoking is even more dangerous for public health than was thought before.

Recently, a number of countries have imposed bans on smoking in public places. Next came Ireland and Norway, where smoking is prohibited in drinking establishments. The new data received by the British doctors, probably, will force also other countries to follow this example.

Medicus. En.