ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, April 24, 1996 TAG: 9604240075
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-6 EDITION: METRO
Smoke-free anything may be a fantasy
WASHINGTON - Secondhand tobacco smoke invades the lungs of about 88 percent of America's nonsmokers, despite the declining use of tobacco and increased efforts to set aside smoke-free zones in restaurants and offices, a study released Tuesday says.
Blood samples from 10,642 people, ages 4 and over, indicated there is almost universal exposure to tobacco smoke, even among people who do not smoke or work or live around people who do, according to the federal survey.
``These were unexpected findings,'' said Dr. James L. Pirkle, head of a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention team that compiled the study over a three-year period. He said the study indicates that exposure to environmental tobacco smoke is widespread even among people unaware of it in places where they live and work. ``You can definitely have a significant exposure even if you can't see it or smell it,'' he said.
- Associated Press
Bishops reaffirm anti-gay position
DENVER - Responding to a recent break in their ranks, the United Methodist bishops Tuesday affirmed the church's opposition to homosexuality and the ordination of gays.
The 67-member Council of Bishops acknowledged at a meeting of the church's General Conference that there are serious differences on the issue within the 8.5 million-member church, the nation's second-largest Protestant denomination.
But in a statement adopted unanimously, the bishops said they were committed to following church law banning gay ordinations and declaring the practice of homosexuality to be incompatible with church teaching.
- Associated Press
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