I thought I'd heard it all

Second hand smoke can make you crazy?

A new British study shows a remarkable correlation between exposure to secondhand smoke and an increase in psychological problems.

Bugger, not another bloody study! If it's anything like Dr Anna Gilmore's tosh then I don't want to know? Her study was roundly trounced by both Chris Snowden and Dr Siegel?  I've had enough of Junk Science to last me a lifetime.

Cigarette smokers have been shown to have more psychological problems than nonsmokers do, and new evidence suggests that nonsmokers who inhale high levels of secondhand smoke may experience nearly as much psychological distress as smokers, say epidemiologist Mark Hamer of University College London and his colleagues.

Well yeah, the smoking ban experiment is driving us all nuts. Anyway, how did you arrive at this rediculous conclusion?

Overall, these findings support the view, largely based on animal studies, that nicotine administered in large enough doses can induce sadness and other negative moods, the researchers propose in the August Archives of General Psychiatry.

Hmm, so you put a few lab rats into a confined space, sparked up one ciggy after another then blew (after inhaling, of course, otherwise it wouldn't be Second Hand Smoke, now would it?) SHS into that confined space and watched if the rats had a huge grin on their faces did you?

“Our data are preliminary, but there is a strong possibility that the observed association reflects a causal link,” Hamer says.

Oh ffs, "preliminary" and "strong possibility?" You have nothing concrete, have you? You're blowing smoke rings out of your...

A related study, published in the January Psychosomatic Medicine, found an increased risk for depression symptoms among nonsmokers exposed to modest or greater levels of secondhand smoke. A team led by epidemiologist David J. Lee of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine examined data from a 2005–2006 survey of nearly 3,000 U.S. adults.

 Of course Dr David J. Lee would not have a vested interest in the denormalisation of smokers and smoking? One of his fingers wouldn't be in that icing sugar bowl called Tobacco Control, would it?

Starting in 2000, Dr. Lee became increasingly involved in tobacco control research, serving as co-investigator of the Florida Youth Cohort Study. This study followed a sample of Florida adolescents to monitor changes in tobacco-related attitudes/beliefs and behaviors. Dr. Lee also was involved in the evaluation of the Minnesota tobacco control program, which was recently defunded. The effect of this defunding was detectable within six months. The program’s termination was associated with increases in youth pro-tobacco attitudes and susceptibility to smoking initiation. Dr. Lee is currently principal investigator of a Flight Attendant Medical Institute (FAMRI)-funded grant to study the influence of secondhand smoke on the health of young adults. He also has an additional grant pending to examine worker health effects of occupational exposure to secondhand smoke.

Here is a video where Mark Hamer talks about his theories on second hand smoke and  psychological problems.

Read rest of the story here.