Passive smoking kills more than 11,000 a year in the UK – many more than previously thought, a study has found. The British Medical Journal study also gives a figure for people dying from second-hand smoke exposure in the workplace, putting the total at over 600 a year. Researchers at the University of Queensland in Australia compiled the report from UK databases of causes of death, employment, structure of households and levels of active smoking and exposure to passive smoking.

Konrad Jamrozik. Estimate of deaths attributable to passive smoking among UK adults: database analysis, BMJ, doi:10.1136/bmj.38370.496632.8F, published 2 March 2005. Risks 197.