Even if you dont light up yourself, you can still be waylaid by lung cancer from secondhand smoke, U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona says.

Carmona, who released a 670-page study on the subject Tuesday (June 27), burned through the numbers to back up that statement.

More than 126 million Americans annually ages 3 and older continue to be exposed to secondhand smoke, according to numbers culled for the study. Thats in the face of smoke-free ordinances passed in hundreds of cities nationwide.

And close to 50,000 nonsmokers will die this year from secondhand smoke, the study reports.

West Virginia University has a trio of sources who can offer comments and insights on the study.

They are:

  • Donley Studlar (304-293-3811 ext. 5269, donley.studlar@mail.wvu.edu ), Eberly Family Distinguished Professor of Political Science who has conducted research on tobacco control policy in the United States and other countries and is the author a book and several articles on the subject.
  • Dr. Ramin Altaha (304-293-4229, raltaha@hsc.wvu.edu ), a researcher at the Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center who can talk about the medical particulars of lung cancer and how that disease spreads to form tumors in the head and neck.
  • Robert Anderson (304-293-1828, randerson@hsc.wvu.edu ), associate director of WVU s School of Community Medicine who researches the ramifications of tobacco use and tobacco policy in communities.
  • Dr. Geoffrey Graeber (304-598-4561, ggraeber@hsc.wvu.edu ), co-director of the Sara Crile Allen and James Frederick Allen Comprehensive Lung Cancer Program at WVU s Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center. Hes a thoracic surgeon who can discuss the full range of lung cancer treatment, from surgery to radiation therapy.