Cracking down on smoking

With a new study out that shows the dangers of secondhand smoke from neighbors in residential buildings, Los Angeles County health officials are hoping more cities will ban smoking inside apartments. Susan Abram in the Daily News.

Preliminary results from a study released Wednesday by the county health department show that tobacco smoke particles can seep into the units of nonsmokers through air ducts, electrical cracks, and under doorways and can reach "significant levels equal to and exceeding those of a smoky bar or casino."

"California is the largest smoke-free zone in the nation, but the bans don't protect children," said Dr. Jonathan Winickoff, a professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and member of the American Academy of Pediatrics.