Bar workers' exposure to second-hand smoke

TY - JOUR

T1 - Bar workers' exposure to second-hand smoke

T2 - The effect of Scottish smoke-free legislation on occupational exposure

AU - Semple, Sean

AU - Maccalman, Laura

AU - Atherton-Naji, Audrey

AU - Dempsey, Scott

AU - Hilton, Shona

AU - Miller, Brian G.

AU - Ayres, Jon

PY - 2007/10

Y1 - 2007/10

N2 - Objectives: To examine changes in bar workers' exposure to second-hand smoke (SHS) over a 12-month period before and after the introduction of Scottish smoke-free legislation on the 26 March 2006. Methods: A total of 371 bar workers were recruited from 72 bars in three cities: Aberdeen, Glasgow, Edinburgh and small towns in two rural regions (Borders and Aberdeenshire). Prior to the introduction of the smoke-free legislation, we visited all participants in their place of work and collected saliva samples, for the measurement of cotinine, together with details on work patterns, self-reported exposure to SHS at work and non-work settings and smoking history. This was repeated 2 months post-legislation and again in the spring of 2007. In addition, we gathered fullshift personal exposure data from a small number of Aberdeen bar workers using a personal aerosol monitor for fine particulate matter (PM2.5) at the baseline and 2 months post-legislation visits. Results: Data were available for 371 participants at baseline, 266 (72%) at 2 months post-legislation and 191 (51%) at the 1-year follow-up. The salivary cotinine level recorded in non-smokers fell from a geometric mean of 2.94 ng ml(-1) prior to introduction of the legislation to 0.41 ng ml(-1) at 1-year follow-up. Paired data showed a reduction in non-smokers' cotinine levels of 89% [95% confidence interval (CI) 85-92%]. For the whole cohort, the duration of workplace exposure to SHS within the last 7 days fell from 28.5 to 0.83 h, though some bar workers continued to report substantial SHS exposures at work despite the legislation. Smokers also demonstrated reductions in their salivary cotinine levels of 12% (95% CI 3-20%). This may reflect both the reduction in SHS exposure at work and falls in active cigarette smoking in this group. In a small sub-sample of bar workers, full-shift personal exposure to PM2.5, a marker of SHS concentrations, showed average reductions of 86% between baseline and 2 months after implementation of the legislation. Conclusions: Most bar workers have experienced very large reductions in their workplace exposure to SHS as a result of smoke-free legislation in Scotland. These reductions have been sustained over a period of 1 year.

AB - Objectives: To examine changes in bar workers' exposure to second-hand smoke (SHS) over a 12-month period before and after the introduction of Scottish smoke-free legislation on the 26 March 2006. Methods: A total of 371 bar workers were recruited from 72 bars in three cities: Aberdeen, Glasgow, Edinburgh and small towns in two rural regions (Borders and Aberdeenshire). Prior to the introduction of the smoke-free legislation, we visited all participants in their place of work and collected saliva samples, for the measurement of cotinine, together with details on work patterns, self-reported exposure to SHS at work and non-work settings and smoking history. This was repeated 2 months post-legislation and again in the spring of 2007. In addition, we gathered fullshift personal exposure data from a small number of Aberdeen bar workers using a personal aerosol monitor for fine particulate matter (PM2.5) at the baseline and 2 months post-legislation visits. Results: Data were available for 371 participants at baseline, 266 (72%) at 2 months post-legislation and 191 (51%) at the 1-year follow-up. The salivary cotinine level recorded in non-smokers fell from a geometric mean of 2.94 ng ml(-1) prior to introduction of the legislation to 0.41 ng ml(-1) at 1-year follow-up. Paired data showed a reduction in non-smokers' cotinine levels of 89% [95% confidence interval (CI) 85-92%]. For the whole cohort, the duration of workplace exposure to SHS within the last 7 days fell from 28.5 to 0.83 h, though some bar workers continued to report substantial SHS exposures at work despite the legislation. Smokers also demonstrated reductions in their salivary cotinine levels of 12% (95% CI 3-20%). This may reflect both the reduction in SHS exposure at work and falls in active cigarette smoking in this group. In a small sub-sample of bar workers, full-shift personal exposure to PM2.5, a marker of SHS concentrations, showed average reductions of 86% between baseline and 2 months after implementation of the legislation. Conclusions: Most bar workers have experienced very large reductions in their workplace exposure to SHS as a result of smoke-free legislation in Scotland. These reductions have been sustained over a period of 1 year.

KW - cotinine

KW - particulate matter

KW - second-hand smoke

KW - environmental tobacco-smoke

KW - secondhand smoke

KW - respiratory health

KW - passive smoking

KW - public places

KW - nicotine

KW - Scotland

KW - adults

KW - impact

U2 - 10.1093/annhyg/mem044

DO - 10.1093/annhyg/mem044

M3 - Article

VL - 51

SP - 571

EP - 580

JO - Annals of Occupational Hygiene

JF - Annals of Occupational Hygiene

SN - 0003-4878

IS - 7

ER -