OBJECTIVE To estimate the levels of small breathable suspended particles (PM(2.5)) as atmospheric markers of environmental tobacco smoke in catering establishments in Zaragoza, Spain. MATERIAL AND METHOD An observational study was conducted between October 2006 and April 2008 in various catering establishments in Zaragoza. A SidePack Aerosol Monitor (AM510 model) was used to sample and record...

OBJECTIVE To assess the extent to which smokers and non-smokers in Victoria, Australia attempt to keep their homes smoke free and to determine whether the proportion of people attempting to do so has changed over time. DESIGN Face to face surveys conducted in Victoria each year from 1989 to 1997. PARTICIPANTS Approximately 2500 randomly selected adults each year. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Pro...

A s the evidence for the risks of harm from exposure to secondhand smoke has grown, so laws and policies to protect workers, children, and other community members from exposure have escalated. Clean indoor air laws are gradually becoming more common, even in traditionally hard to change venues such as restaurants and bars, with countries such as Ireland, Norway, New Zealand, Italy, most Austral...

I read with interest the article from Bermudez et al., "Environmental Tobacco Smoke Is Just as Damaging to DNA as Mainstream Smoke" (EHP 102: 870-874). Environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) is a complex mixture of chemicals resulting from dilution in a confined environment of tobacco smoke. ETS has three forms: 1) sidestream smoke (SS) is produced by a cigarette during the puff intervals, 2) mainst...

Japan has been behind the times in terms of promoting smoking control. The health-promotion law, which included the aim of preventing environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) in public places, was newly introduced in Japan in 2003. The community-based survey on the present state of restaurant smoking restrictions and restaurant owners' concern of smoking is important as it is a reflection of the commu...

To assess the prevalence and the level of exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) in the workplace after the enactment of the law restricting indoor smoking in Macedonia, we performed a cross-sectional, self-administered questionnaire study including 372 never-smoking workers recruited from six workplaces. We found a high prevalence of workers exposed to ETS in the workplace (27.4 %) with...

INTRODUCTION Several studies in developed countries have shown association between indoor air pollution and asthma in children. The present research was undertaken to study this association at Delhi, India. MATERIAL AND METHODS This study took place at Delhi, capital of India. Eight locations based on the source of pollution such as industrial, residential and villages were included. Recordin...

Environmental tobacco smoke is an important contaminant of indoor air. For a non-smoker living with a smoker the exposure is equivalent to about 1% of that from actively smoking 20 cigarettes a day (based on plasma cotinine). There is strong and consistent evidence that passive smoking increases the risk of lung cancer. It is estimated that there is an increase in risk of 24% (95% confidence in...

B ans on smoking in public places and workplaces, including bars and restaurants, have recently been introduced in California and New York City and have been announced in Ireland. In addition, the UK Chief Medical Officer and the EU Health Commissioner have recently called for a ban on smoking in public places. Despite clear evidence that environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) adversely affects heal...

This pilot study evaluated the potential effect of household environmental factors such as income, maternal characteristics, and indoor air pollution on children's respiratory status in an Eastern Indonesian community. Household data were collected from cross-sectional (n = 461 participants) and preliminary childhood case-control surveys (pneumonia cases = 31 diagnosed within three months at a ...