Exposure to second-hand smoke: a population-based survey in Spain.

To the Editors: In 1972, a US Surgeon General’s report, “The Health Consequences of Smoking”, addressed the topic of passive smoking 1. More than three decades later, another Surgeon General’s report, “The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke”, concluded that a causal relationship exists between second-hand smoke (SHS) exposure experienced by lifelong nonsmokers and several diseases, including lung cancer and coronary heart disease 2. Despite the report's findings, legislation promoting population protection against this ambient carcinogen 3 has been slow to take hold globally. The exposure of the Spanish population remains unknown and existing data on prevalence of exposure is …