Media Reports 


The Times, U.K. Tuesday August 17, 1999

Passive Smoking
'Linked to Strokes'


By Ian Murray


Passive smoking at home or in the workplace significantly increases the likelihood of non-smokers having a stroke, according to new research.

The danger is greatest for men, whose risk of an attack is 82 per cent higher compared with 66 per cent for women.

The study, among 521 stroke patients in Auckland, New Zealand, also found that smokers are up to six times more likely to have a stroke than people who have not smoked for more than ten years.

The Stroke Association said the report by the University of Auckland made existing concerns about the link between smoking and strokes even more worrisome.

Clive Bates, director of the anti-smoking group ASH, said it showed people needed proper protection from passive smoking.