The Use of Fabric Diffusers to Control Environmental Tobacco Smoke

Smoking in public places is a hot debate presently in Europe. A number of legislative bodies in Europe have already made policy decisions on the issue of smoking in public places. Scientific evidence relating to this debate has been reported in a diverse range of publications such as BMJ, Indoor air and the BSJ. On inspection much of the reporting concludes negatively on the performance of ventilation systems. How are buildings that are exempt from this legislation, which will include a number of health care premises, going to protect both staff and employees and smokers? Can fabric diffusers reduce Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS) to a level that is as low as reasonably practical as required by health and safety legislation? Index terms fabric diffusers, ventilation, environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), smoking in public places, indoor air quality (IAQ)