CC_Minutes_2004_0614 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

Ineffectiveness of separating restaurants into smoking and nonsmoking sections were excluded from the study. Participants provided saliva samples at the beginning and end of their work shift and also submitted to an interview. The work shift had to be at least four hours in length. There was a clear association between within-shift cotinine concentration and smoking policy. Workers in places where customers could smoke re- ported prevalence of respiratory irritation symptoms more than workers in smoke-free workplaces. Exposed workers were found to have con- centrations of salivary cotinine that have been associated with substan- tial involuntary risks for cancer and heart disease. Bates MN. Fawcett J, Dickson S, Berezowski R, Garrett N. Exposure of hospitality workers to environmental tobacco smoke. Tobacco Control. 2002; II: 125-9. A University of California researcher compiled measurements of second- hand smoke in 100 offices, 400 restaurants, and 600 homes; he excluded those measuring substances in designated smoking areas and in smoke- free establishments. Measured levels of environmental tobacco smoke in restaurants were 1.6 to 2.0 times higher than in office workplaces and 1.5 times higher than in homes with at least one smoker. Levels of ETS in bars were 3.9 to 6.1 times higher than in offices and 4.4 to 4.5 higher than in homes. He also analyzed six studies that examined lung cancer risk in food-service workers and controlled for active smoking and certain other variables. He concluded that the high concentration of ETS in restaurants was the most likely explanation for the increased risk of lung cancer among food-service workers. He recommended prohibiting smoking in restaurants and bars to protect workers' health. Siegel M. Involuntary smoking in the restaurant workplace: A review of employee exposure and health effects. JArvIA. 1993;270:490-493. "Levels of secondhand smoke that produce endothelial dysfunction in nonsmokers' coronary arteries [changes that hinder the ability of these arteries to transport blood] are typical of the high exposures encountered by many nonsmokers daily in hospitality venues and automobiles." Repace J. Effects of passive smoking on coronary circulation. JM0/1A 2002;287:316-7. Testing the effectiveness of restaurant smoking restrictions, researchers measured particulate cadmium, a relatively specific marker compound for ETS, in three types of sites: smoke-free, smoking-restricted, and smoking-unrestricted. ETS is the major source of particulates in restau- rants that allow smoking. They concluded that partial smoking restric- tions reduce but do not eliminate ETS exposure in restaurants. Brauer M, Mannetje A. Environmental tobacco smoke exposure. AJPH. 1998; 88: 1834-6. Researchers conducted a comparison of two markers of environmental tobacco smoke in the smoking and no-smoking sections of restaurants at the same time. They found that respirable suspended particles (the