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AAP News Vol. 13 No. 10 October 1997, p. 10 © 1997 American Academy of Pediatrics
Epidemiologist Ruth Etzel, M.D., FAAP, who follows every newly published study on environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), said that even she was "stunned" to learn one fact in particular: More than half of U.S. school districts still permit some smoking on school grounds, despite well-documented ETS hazards ranging from more childhood ear infections and asthma attacks to greater adult cancer risk. "I had thought every school must be smoke-free by 1997, and I was shocked to learn many schools have areas where smoking is permitted," said Dr. Etzel, AAP Committee on Environmental Health (COEH) chairperson.
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