Perhaps there was nothing nefarious about the unusually quiet departure of Richard Carmona as U.S. surgeon general. With the ultra-secretive and business-friendly Bush administration, personnel changes don't always go down as advertised.

Depending on which explanation you believe, Dr. Carmona either resigned as head of the federal Public Health Service or he was not reappointed by President Bush when his four-year term expired on July 29 -- the equivalent of being fired.

Some sources indicated that Dr. Carmona was told that he would not be retained as surgeon general, but who ushered him out and the reason were not revealed by the hunker-in-the-bunker folks at the White House.

In any case, Dr. Carmona merits praise for at least one major health initiative: The recent report that labeled secondhand tobacco smoke for what it indisputably is -- a deadly health hazard to millions of Americans.

The surgeon general's report validated the need for a comprehensive statewide ban on smoking in public places, which we support.

As Dr. Carmona put it back in June, "I am grateful ... to be able to say unequivocally that the debate is over. The science is clear: secondhand smoke is not a mere annoyance, but a serious health hazard that causes premature death and disease in children and nonsmoking adults."

The declaration demolished the central claim of the special interests that oppose a smoking ban: that secondhand smoke is not hazardous to those forced to breathe it, whether as patrons or workers in public places.

Did Dr. Carmona's bold stand get him fired? We wouldn't be surprised. After all, the business interests hard at work against real smoking bans are the same businesses routinely found on President Bush's list of influential campaign contributors. Regardless of the circumstances of his departure, Dr. Carmona managed what few appointees of this laissez-faire administration have even attempted -- to advance the cause of legitimate public health protection for the American people. For that, he deserves credit.