Details:

Alternative Title:
Asian Pac J Cancer Prev
Personal Author:
King, Brian A ; Dube, Shanta R ; Ko, Jean Y
King, Brian A ; Dube, Shanta R ; Ko, Jean Y Less -
Description:
Introduction

Secondhand smoke (SHS) from burning tobacco products causes disease and premature death among nonsmokers. Although the number of laws prohibiting smoking in indoor public places continues to increase, millions of nonsmokers in the United States (US) and its territories remain exposed to SHS. This study assessed indoor air pollution from SHS in hospitality venues in three US Pacific Basin territories.

Methods

Air monitors were used to assess PM2.5, an environmental marker for SHS, in 19 smoke-permitted and 18 smoke-free bars and restaurants in American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), and Guam. Observational logs were used to record smoking and other sources of air pollution. Differences in average PM2.5 concentrations were determined using bivariate statistics.

Results

The average PM2.5 level in venues where smoking was always permitted [arithmetic mean (AM)=299.98 μg/m3; geometric mean (GM)=200.39 μg/m3] was significantly higher (p<0.001) than smoke-free venues [AM=8.33 μg/m3; GM=6.14 μg/m3]. In venues where smoking was allowed only during certain times, the average level outside these times [AM=42.10 μg/m3; GM=41.87 μg/m3] was also significantly higher (p<0.001) than smoke-free venues.

Conclusions

Employees and patrons of smoke-permitted bars and restaurants are exposed to dangerous levels of air pollution from SHS, even during periods when active smoking is not occurring. Prohibiting smoking in all public indoor areas, irrespective of the venue type or time of day, is the only way to fully protect nonsmokers from SHS exposure in these environments.


Keywords:
[+]
Air Pollutants Air Pollution American Samoa Environmental Exposure Guam Health Policy Humans Micronesia Public Smoking Bans Restaurants Secondhand Smoke Smoking Tobacco Smoke Pollution Tobacco Smoking
Source:
Asian Pac J Cancer Prev. 12(11):2881-2885
Pubmed ID:
22393958
Pubmed Central ID:
PMC4583773
Document Type:
Journal Article
Funding:
CC999999/Intramural CDC HHSUnited States/
Collection(s):
CDC Public Access
Main Document Checksum:
[+]
urn:sha256:2e8b43aec185b4645772cfe253819ce9b06a437078b45f5bf0df3c68b64dd1a2
Download URL:
https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/34521/cdc_34521_DS1.pdf
File Type:

Supporting Files

• nihms722035.nxml

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