A new study suggests that passive smoking kills 30 people a day in Britain.Smoking in public places will be banned in the UK from next year. Maybe it's not before time. For new research suggests that 30 people a day nationwide are killed from the health hazards of passive smoking.

A team at the University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia, analyzed UK databases and found that exposure to passive smoking in the workplace kills more than two employees a day. At home, eight deaths a day occur from passive smoking. Mixed exposures cause other deaths. It may be some time after the exposure has occurred that health effects set in. And those who work in the hospitality industry seem to be most at risk. Legislation can help them and when it comes into effect next year, many premature deaths will be avoided. For those exposed to smoke in the home, there is no easy solution - other than trying to persuade the smoker to quit.

Source
BMJ online 2nd March 2005