Just before a smoking ban on almost all domestic flights takes place Sunday, Feb. 25, a new U.S. Department of Transportation study released Tuesday provided more evidence that smoking on airplanes can be deadly for non-smokers.
The new Cabin Air Quality report said smoke from cigarettes in airplane cabins increases the lifetime lung cancer risk by 12 to 15 premature cancer deaths per 100,000 crew members and by 0.3 to 0.8 premature deaths per 100,000 frequent-flying, non-smoking passengers.Beginning Sunday, airlines will implement a smoking ban on 99 percent of all flights as recently ordered by Congress. Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, was one of the prime co-sponsors of the measure in the Senate introduced by Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J.
The ban will prevent smoking on all domestic flights within the contiguous United States and on all flights to Hawaii and Alaska that last six hours or more. An estimated 24 flights would be exempt from the law.