The intrepid Michael Siegel discovered that the U.S. Surgeon General’s office and the CDC colluded on the release of the 2006 Surgeon General’s report on passive smoking. Dr. Siegel had to resort to the Freedom of Information Act to pry out the information from the Centers for Disease Control.
His effort was well worth it since it uncovered yet another example of anti-smoking organizations misrepresenting the facts in order to manipulate the media and the public through fear. One area in which this sensationalization took place was in the area of lung cancer, where an effort was made to convince the public that even a brief exposure to second hand smoke could cause lung cancer.
Siegel describes and critiques this hysterical message in this commentary.
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