Less than half of Kentucky residents think secondhand smoking is dangerous, despite reports from the Enviromental Protection Agency (EPA) and others calling environmental tobacco smoke a cancer hazard, the Louisville Courier-Journal reported March 1.

A survey from the University of Kentucky Center for Smokefree Policy found that only 43 percent of state residents believe secondhand smoke is a serious health hazard -- including just 12 percent of smokers.

"So many people are regularly exposed to secondhand smoke and so few see it as a serious health problem," said center director Ellen Hahn. She said the state needs a media campaign to educate the public, noting that cardiopulmonary disease is the top killer of Kentucky residents.

Mike Kuntz, education director at the American Lung Association of Kentucky, found the study results troubling. "If they aren't listening to CDC (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) warnings, EPA warnings and surgeon general warnings, what is going to get to them?" he said.

The study found that the average Kentucky resident was exposed to 18.6 hours of secondhand smoke weekly; a quarter of respondents said they were exposed at home.