Jacob Sullum

In 1993 the Environmental Protection Agency released a report that classified environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) as a “known human carcinogen” and linked secondhand smoke to increased lung cancer rates. The report was used in justifying numerous smoking restrictions in offices and other public places. In the following viewpoint, Jacob Sullum argues that the EPA report is marred by reliance on faulty studies and mishandled statistics. The threat of secondhand smoke has been overstated, he argues, because of anti-smoking sentiment among policy makers and public health officials. He contends that a closer examination of the available evidence reveals that the link between secondhand smoke and increased deaths by lung cancer and other diseases remains unproven. Sullum is a senior editor of Reason magazine and the author of For Your Own Good...