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COMPANIES AGREE THAT VENTILATION SYSTEMS DO NOT ELIMINATE HEALTH RISKS CAUSED BY SECONDHAND SMOKE

• Allergy Control Products, Inc.: "Allergy Control Products, Inc. does not claim that air cleaners offered in this catalog will protect people from potential health risks associated with secondhand smoke."¹
  
  
• Allergy Buyers Club, Inc: "Improved ventilation and use of air purifiers may reduce, but will not completely eliminate, your exposure to secondhand smoke and the associated health risks."²
  
  
• Brookstone: "No air purifier can protect against the health hazards associated with secondhand tobacco smoke."³
  
  
• Espitech Air Products: "We make no medical or health claims whatsoever and it is not our intention to do so…. [The] goal or objective of [the] air purification systems that we sell, for use in a smoking environment, is to provide relief from the annoyance of the odour produced by tobacco smoke as well as some of the discomforts that the smoke (fumes) and odour causes. Espitech Air Products disclaims all warranties, implied or otherwise, that anyone (non-smoker or smoker) who installs our air purifiers, air cleaners, or air scrubbers as an alternative to seeking a smokefree environment will be protected from the health risks caused by exposure to second hand smoke."⁴
  
  
• Honeywell: "Honeywell has not in the past and does not make health hazard claims."⁵
  
  
• IQAir North America: "[Air filtration] doesn't remove the risk of secondhand smoke. It would reduce the amount of smoke in the air over an amount of time. In my opinion, air cleaners are not going to be a solution. Air cleaners can not reduce the initial exposure [to smoke] and that's where the risk is coming from."⁶
  
  
• Peak Pure Air: "Nowhere [sic] do we claim that our products eliminate all hazardous contaminants… No! … not any product on earth will eliminate health hazards cause by exposure to second hand tobacco smoke. After one has been exposed, the damage is done…. In a perfect world we would not need to worry about secondhand tobacco smoke."⁷
  
  
• Radio Shack: "We make no claims that this product will protect people from second-hand smoke….The Environizer electronic air purifiers do not eliminate such [health] hazards….The Environizer will not help remove gases that are found in tobacco smoke."⁸
  
  
• The Sharper Image: "No air cleaner can protect against the harmful effects of secondhand tobacco smoke. Clean air begins with a smoke-free environment."⁹
  
  
• United Air Specialists, Inc.: "No air filtration or purification system has been designed that can eliminate all indoor irritants and pollution associated with secondhand tobacco smoke. In addition, there are no proven safe levels of secondhand tobacco smoke. Because of this, UAS makes no claim that its filtration systems will reduce or eliminate the health risks caused by exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke."¹⁰
  
  
• Wein Products, Inc.: "No air filtration or air purification system has been designed that can eliminate all the harmful constituents of secondhand smoke. A reduction of the harmful constituents of secondhand smoke does not protect against the disease and death caused by exposure to secondhand smoke. The U.S. Surgeon General has determined secondhand smoke to cause heart disease, lung cancer, and respiratory illness."¹¹

VENTILATION DOESN'T PROTECT YOUR HEALTH - THE TOBACCO INDUSTRY KNOWS IT

• Philip Morris USA carries a disclaimer on its web site under a section entitled "Policies, Practices and Positions - Public Place Smoking" that admits ventilation does not address health issues: "While not shown to address the health effects of secondhand smoke, ventilation can help improve the air quality of an establishment by reducing the sight and smell of smoke and by controlling smoke drift."¹²
  
  
• Although the Philip Morris-sponsored atmospherePLUS, a heating, ventilating and air conditioning consulting program, promotes "enhanc[ing] indoor air quality through ventilation," a promotional brochure's fine-print reads: "atmospherePLUS does not purport to address health effects attributed to smoking."¹³
  
  
• The Options, Philip Morris USA web site stated: "Our programs are not intended to address the health effects attributed to secondhand smoke."

REFERENCES

1. [n.a.]. "[Disclaimer re: Allergy Buyers Club, Inc.]" Allergy Buyers Club, Inc. [n.d.].
2. [n.a.], "[Disclaimer re: Allergy Buyers Club]," Allergy Buyers Club, [n.d.]. Accessed on December 6, 2004. Download at http://www.allergybuyersclubshopping.com/al40voc.html.
3. [n.a.], "[Disclaimer re: Brookstone.]," Brookstone Catalog, Winter 2004.
4. Lito Espinosa, Sales Manager of Espitech Air Products, "[Espitech letter re: performance of air cleaners and health hazard claims on www.allerairsolutions.com]," Espitech, April 14, 2004.
5. Janell Siegfried, Honeywell representative, "[Honeywell letter re: performance of air cleaners and health hazard claims]," Honeywell, June 12, 2000.
6. Glory Dolphin-Hammes, Executive director of the air filtration company IQAir North America. Quoted in: Filtration systems help, but can not eliminate smoke, Northwest Arkansas News, July 21, 2003.
7. Edward L. Peacock, President of Peak Pure Air, "[Peak Pure Air letter re: performance of air cleaners and health hazard claims on www.peakpureair.net]," Peak Pure Air, April 9, 2004.
8. J. Christian Angle, Trademark/Corporate Attorney for RadioShack Corporation. "[RadioShack letter re: performance of air purifiers and health hazard claims on www.radioshack.com.]" RadioShack Corporation. May 26, 2004.
9. (n.a.] "[Disclaimer re: air purifiers do not protect against adverse health effects caused by secondhand smoke.]" The Sharper Image. Accessed on May 19, 2004. Download at http://www.sharperimage.com/us/en/catalog/pipmoreshell1_2.jhtml?sku=SI637SNX&pid=58036000.
10. [n.a.], “[Disclaimer re: air filtration and purification systems do not protect against adverse health effects caused by secondhand smoke.],”United Air Specialists, Inc., [n.d.]. Downloaded at http://www.uasinc.com/Commercial_Air_Cleaning/. Accessed on August 1, 2005.
11. Stan Weinberg, Chairman and CEO of Wein Products, Inc., "[Disclaimer re: air purifiers do not protect against adverse health effects caused by secondhand smoke.]" Wein Products, Inc. Accessed on April 28, 2004. Download at http://www.weinproducts.com/smoke.htm.
12. [n.a.]. "Policies, Practices & Positions: Public Place Smoking, Reasonable Ways to minimize Secondhand Smoke," pmusa.com. Downloaded: October 3, 2003.
13. National Licensed Beverage Association. AtmospherePLUS: How Ventilation Can Improve Customer Comfort and Profitability Brochure). Alexandria, VA: National Licensed Beverage Association, 2000.