Skip to main content
PMC home page
Tobacco Control logoLink to Tobacco Control
. 2004 Mar;13(1):17–22. doi: 10.1136/tc.2003.005488

Designated "no smoking" areas provide from partial to no protection from environmental tobacco smoke

T Cains 1, S Cannata 1, R Poulos 1, M Ferson 1, B Stewart 1
PMCID: PMC1747825  PMID: 14985590

Abstract

Objective: To determine the efficacy of designated "no smoking" areas in the hospitality industry as a means of providing protection from environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), and whether certain design features assist in achieving this end.

Methodology: In the greater metropolitan region of Sydney, a representative group of 17 social and gaming clubs, licensed to serve alcoholic beverages and in which, apart from designated areas, smoking occurs, agreed to participate. In each establishment, simultaneous single measurements of atmospheric nicotine, particulate matter (10 µm; PM10) and carbon dioxide (CO2) levels were measured in a general use area and in a designated "no smoking" area during times of normal operation, together with the levels in outdoor air (PM10 and CO2 only). Analyses were made of these data to assess the extent to which persons using the "no smoking" areas were protected from exposure to ETS.

Results: By comparison with levels in general use areas, nicotine and particulate matter levels were significantly less in the "no smoking" areas, but were still readily detectable at higher than ambient levels. For nicotine, mean (SD) levels were 100.5 (45.3) µg/m3 in the areas where smoking occurred and 41.3 (16.1) µg/m3 in the "no smoking" areas. Corresponding PM10 levels were 460 (196) µg/m3 and 210 (210) µg/m3, while outdoor levels were 61 (23) µg/m3. The reduction in pollutants achieved through a separate room being designated "no smoking" was only marginally better than the reduction achieved when a "no smoking" area was contiguous with a smoking area. CO2 levels were relatively uninformative.

Conclusion: Provision of designated "no smoking" areas in licensed (gaming) clubs in New South Wales, Australia, provides, at best, partial protection from ETS—typically about a 50% reduction in exposure. The protection afforded is less than users might reasonably have understood and is not comparable with protection afforded by prohibiting smoking on the premises.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (271.3 KB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Ayers G. P., Selleck P. W., Gillett R. W., Keywood M. D. Determination of nicotine in water by gradient ion chromatography. J Chromatogr A. 1998 Oct 23;824(2):241–245. doi: 10.1016/s0021-9673(98)00632-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Bates M. N., Fawcett J., Dickson S., Berezowski R., Garrett N. Exposure of hospitality workers to environmental tobacco smoke. Tob Control. 2002 Jun;11(2):125–129. doi: 10.1136/tc.11.2.125. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Brauer M., Mannetje A. Restaurant smoking restrictions and environmental tobacco smoke exposure. Am J Public Health. 1998 Dec;88(12):1834–1836. doi: 10.2105/ajph.88.12.1834. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Daynard R. Why tobacco litigation? Tob Control. 2003 Mar;12(1):1–2. doi: 10.1136/tc.12.1.1. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Hammond S. K., Sorensen G., Youngstrom R., Ockene J. K. Occupational exposure to environmental tobacco smoke. JAMA. 1995 Sep 27;274(12):956–960. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Lambert W. E., Samet J. M., Spengler J. D. Environmental tobacco smoke concentrations in no-smoking and smoking sections of restaurants. Am J Public Health. 1993 Sep;83(9):1339–1341. doi: 10.2105/ajph.83.9.1339. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Law M. R., Hackshaw A. K. Environmental tobacco smoke. Br Med Bull. 1996 Jan;52(1):22–34. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.bmb.a011528. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Maskarinec M. P., Jenkins R. A., Counts R. W., Dindal A. B. Determination of exposure to environmental tobacco smoke in restaurant and tavern workers in one US city. J Expo Anal Environ Epidemiol. 2000 Jan-Feb;10(1):36–49. doi: 10.1038/sj.jea.7500069. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Repace J. L., Lowrey A. H. Indoor air pollution, tobacco smoke, and public health. Science. 1980 May 2;208(4443):464–472. doi: 10.1126/science.7367873. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Stewart Bernard W., Semmler Peter C. B. Sharp v Port Kembla RSL Club: establishing causation of laryngeal cancer by environmental tobacco smoke. Med J Aust. 2002 Feb 4;176(3):113–116. doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2002.tb04317.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Taylor R., Cumming R., Woodward A., Black M. Passive smoking and lung cancer: a cumulative meta-analysis. Aust N Z J Public Health. 2001 Jun;25(3):203–211. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-842x.2001.tb00564.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Walsh Raoul A., Tzelepis Flora. Support for smoking restrictions in bars and gaming areas: review of Australian studies. Aust N Z J Public Health. 2003;27(3):310–322. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-842x.2003.tb00400.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Tobacco Control are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES