Care-home workers' exposure to SHS: a short summary of findings

Smoke-free legislation introduced in 2006 and 2007 across the UK has dramatically reduced the number of workers exposed to second-hand tobacco smoke (SHS). Data collected by our group have shown reductions in airborne respiratory particulate exposure of 86% among bar workers in Scotland.1 However, there are some exceptions to the smoke-free legislation including care-home settings where residents are allowed to smoke in specially designated smoking rooms. There are concerns that people employed in care-homes are being exposed to high levels of SHS. We report here the results from a small study of workers in eight randomly selected care-homes in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire in Scotland.