In the early 20th century, lung cancer was rare, but the disease rose from obscurity by the 1930s (Meyer, 1992, p. 72). This was because people began smoking cigarettes in large numbers Indeed, during this time, cigarettes and their accoutrements were associated with glamour, sophistication, and mystery. The appeal of smoking was mirrored in popular culture by the use of trendy ashtrays, ashstands, and lighters (Parente, 1992, p. 30-33). In the 1950s, medical research claiming harmful effects from tobacco had not been proven yet, and the tobacco industry turned to hiring public relations firms to further convince the American public of the merits of smoking (Miller, 1992, p.1).
Today, things are different. Smoking, once associated with glamour and sophistication, is now associated with cancer and heart disease. In addition, medical research has shown that smoking is not only harmful for smokers, but it may also be harmful for those in close proximity to smokers. There is a strong anti-smoking movement that works diligently toward passing laws against smoking so that nonsmokers can breathe freely, and an important issue today is whether smoking bans--in the workplace or in public places--are justified (Leichtman & Merryman, 1992, p. 1056). Many people are so unhappy about breathing in secondhand smoke that they feel smoking bans are justified. Others claim that because about two-thirds of the people in the United States actually prefer separate smoking areas, bans are not necessary (Leichtman & Walker, 1992).
The risks of secondhand smoke were discussed in medical literature as early as 1950 (Clark, 1992, p. 1052). The first important evidence linking it to cancer came from morbidity studies conducted in the early 1980s in Greece and Japan. As other medical studies weighed in with similar results, evaluations of the scientific literature were undertaken by the National Research Council and the U.S. surgeon general. In...