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Restaurant smoking restrictions and environmental tobacco smoke exposure
1University of British Columbia, Occupational Hygiene Program, Vancouver, Canada. brauer@unixg.ubc.ca
Objectives:
This study evaluated the effectiveness of smoking restrictions.
Methods:
We measured particulate concentrations in restaurants with different levels of allowable smoking.
Results:
Mean particulate concentrations were 70% higher in establishments without smoking restrictions compared with those with partial smoking restrictions. Concentrations in nonsmoking restaurants were reduced by an additional 20% to 30%. Measurements of cadmium, an environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) marker, implicated ETS as the major source of particulate in restaurants that allowed smoking.
Conclusions:
Partial smoking restrictions substantially reduce, but do not eliminate, ETS exposure in restaurants. Occupants of nonsmoking restaurants avoid ETS exposure but may experience substantial particulate exposures from cooking emissions.