BACKGROUND Secondhand Smoking (SHS) has been suggested as a major health problem in the world and is known to cause various negative health effects that have in turn caused the deaths of almost 600,000 people per year. Evidence has suggested that SHS may have an effect on health problems and such findings have influenced the implementation of smoking-free areas. However, few studies have invest...

AIMS We used the hospital discharge records of Piedmont region (northern Italy) to evaluate whether a national law banning smoking in public resulted in a short-term reduction in hospital admissions for acute myocardial infarction (AMI). METHODS AND RESULTS Rates of admission for AMI before the ban (October-December 2004) and during the ban (February-June 2005) were analysed. Each period was ...

AIMS To assess university students' extent of smoking, knowledge of smoking health risks, and awareness of existing national anti-smoking laws. METHODS Self-administered questionnaire was employed across 7 universities (1,104 students, equal proportions of males and females) located in Gaza Strip, Palestine. RESULTS About 55% of participants reported ever smoking, 31% were current cigarette...

BACKGROUND Environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) causes disease in nonsmokers. Workplace bans on smoking are interventions to reduce exposure to ETS to try to prevent harmful health effects. On March 29, 2004, the Irish government introduced the first national comprehensive legislation banning smoking in all workplaces, including bars and restaurants. This study examines the impact of this legislat...

OBJECTIVES Smoke-free legislation was implemented in Guangzhou on 1 September 2010. However, the smoke-free policy did not cover all indoor areas and smoking rooms can be set in some public places. This study aimed to assess changes in self-reported second-hand smoke (SHS) exposure in different types of venues and in homes, in order to evaluate the effectiveness of smoke-free legislation. MET...

OBJECTIVES To understand the evolution of 20 years of tobacco industry strategies to undermine federal restrictions of smoking on aircraft in the United States. DESIGN We searched and analysed internal tobacco industry records, public documents, and other related research. RESULTS The industry viewed these restrictions as a serious threat to the social acceptability of smoking. Its initial ...

BACKGROUND We quantified the air quality benefits of a smoke-free workplace law in Boston Massachusetts, U.S.A., by measuring air pollution from secondhand smoke (SHS) in 7 pubs before and after the law, comparing actual ventilation practices to engineering society (ASHRAE) recommendations, and assessing SHS levels using health and comfort indices. METHODS We performed real-time measurements ...

PURPOSE This cross-sectional study aimed to examine the association between self-reported exposure status to second-hand smoke and urinary cotinine level in pregnant nonsmokers. MATERIALS AND METHODS We recruited pregnant nonsmokers from the prenatal care clinics of a university hospital and two community health centers, and their urinary cotinine concentrations were measured. RESULTS Among...

BACKGROUND Introducing comprehensive smoke-free policies to public places is expected to reduce health costs. This includes prevented health damages by avoiding environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure as well as indirect health benefits from reduced tobacco consumption. METHODS The aim of this study was to estimate direct health costs of ETS exposure in public places and indirect health be...