Study gauges secondhand smoke toll

SACRAMENTO (AP) Secondhand tobacco smoke is responsible for the deaths
of an estimated 4,700 to 7,900 nonsmokers in California annually,
including 136 infants, a new state study released Thursday concluded.

The study by the state Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment and
the state Air Resources Board also attributed up to 188,000 ear infections,
36,000 cases of bronchitis or pneumonia and 3,100 cases of asthma annually
among California children to the effects of secondhand smoke.