SMOKING DEEMED POLLUTANT STATE'S DECISION COULD SPUR BANS.

Byline: Kerry Cavanaugh and Josh Kleinbaum Staff Writers

Secondhand smoke isn't just nasty, it's a toxic air pollutant, California air-quality regulators declared Thursday, clearing the way for tough new rules on smoking in public and private.

The unanimous decision by the California Air Resources Board was spurred by new research linking tobacco smoke to premature births, asthma and respiratory infections in children and breast cancer in premenopausal women. Activists say it could help resurrect proposals to ban smoking in cars when children are present and limit smoking in apartment complexes.

``The ARB's action rightfully puts secondhand smoke in the same category as the most toxic automotive and industrial air pollutants,'' said Joan Denton, director of the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment. ``Californians, especially parents, would not willingly fill their homes with motor-vehicle exhaust, and they should feel the same way about tobacco smoke.''

Tobacco smoke contains fine particles that reach deep into the lungs and thousands of gases, from arsenic to benzene to formaldehyde. Scientists blamed secondhand smoke for 4,000 deaths each year in California from lung cancer or heart disease alone.

Although California is the first state to label tobacco smoke as a toxic air contaminant, the decision will not immediately affect smokers. But officials will have to determine whether existing public-education campaigns and rules on smoking adequately protect people from secondhand smoke.

They are expected to report back to the ARB in three years.

Public health officials will likely consider limits on smoking in multifamily housing, where smoke from one unit can waft into neighboring units. The state's move could empower people who are bothered by tobacco smoke.

``It strengthens the ability of people who are affected by secondhand smoke to complain and get help,'' said Dr. Jonathan Fielding, Los Angeles County's director of public health.

``Smokers have rights, too, but those rights shouldn't include making other people sick through involuntary exposure to secondhand smoke.''

R.J. Reynolds spokesman David Howard said regardless of the dangers from passive smoke indoors, no research supports regulators' decision to declare it an air pollutant.

``No studies exist that show that exposure outdoors leads to any increased risk of tobacco-associated illness,'' he said.

The state decision bothered some smokers who wondered aloud when and where they'll be able smoke in the future.

``I think they're just trying to get everyone to quit smoking, trying to put the tobacco business out of business. Eventually, we're going to have to quit,'' said Randy Stalker, 43, of Corona, mingling with other smokers outside the Van Nuys Courthouse.

``There's a lot of other things outside worse than smoking. Going down the freeway with your windows down is worse than secondhand smoke.''

Canoga Park resident Tommy Cheung, 28, questioned the prospect of more restrictions, particularly if more cities follow the example of Calabasas, which is considering prohibiting smoking in public places where smokers and nonsmokers co-mingle.

``It's kind of an invasion of privacy. More restrictions, that's fine; I can live with that. I can go down the street and smoke. But saying I can't go outside a building to smoke, that's too far,'' Cheung said.

``It's like violating freedom. Unless they ban tobacco altogether, make it like marijuana, that's too far.''

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Kerry Cavanaugh, [phone]

kerry.cavanaugh(at)dailynews.com

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Photo:

Randy Stalker enjoys a cigarette outside the Van Nuys Courthouse on Thursday. State regulators have declared secondhand smoke a toxic air pollutant.

John McCoy/Staff Photographer