Secondhand smoke in perspective

The mayor of Santee, California, USA, has enraged anti-smoking activists by playing down the dangers of secondhand tobacco smoke, according to a report by Natasha Zouves for 10 News.

Santee recently received a failing grade from the American Lung Association for allowing people to smoke in city parks, but Mayor Randy Voepel was unabashed.

“Here’s the deal—I’m not a smoker,” he was quoted as saying. “I might smoke one cigar every month, but cigarette smoking is especially stupid. And if you want to be stupid, you have the freedom to be stupid in Santee.”

But Voepel said he didn’t see secondhand smoke as a “serious” issue.

“You will suck in more carcinogens on your daily commute in the morning than you ever will smelling some faintly wafting secondhand smoke.”

The full report is at http://www.10news.com/news/mayor-of-santee-f-stands-for-freedom.