Active smoking and second-hand-smoke exposure at home among Irish children, 1995-2007.

OBJECTIVE: This study hypothesised a continual decline in current smoking prevalence over four calendar years (1995, 1998, 2002/03 and 2007) and no significant increase in second-hand-smoke (SHS) exposure levels at home after the workplace smoking ban of March 2004 (2007 versus 2002/03 survey) among Irish school children. METHODS: A modified ISAAC (International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood) protocol was used. Children aged 13-14 years from randomly selected representative post-primary schools were studied: 2670 in 1995, 2273 in 1998, 2892 in 2002-2003, and 2805 in 2007. ISAAC is a cross-sectional self-administered questionnaire survey. Smoking history was self-reported. beta Coefficients (slopes) of smoking rates across the four surveys were computed. Odds ratios for smoking rates were also computed using the baseline year (1995) as the reference period. All analyses were performed using SAS software (v 9.1). RESULTS: There were significant reductions in active smoking rates between 1995 and 2007 (from 19.9% to 10.6%, respectively) resulting in 3.3% survey-to-survey reductions, with a significantly greater survey-to-survey decline among girls compared to boys (3.8% vs 2.7%, respectively). 45% of children were exposed to SHS at home in 2007. There was a statistically non-significant 2% overall decline in SHS exposure levels at home in 2007 relative to 2002/03, which was more pronounced in girls. CONCLUSIONS: The continual reduction in active smoking prevalence in children is welcome. That there was no significant increase in SHS exposure at home after the nationwide workplace smoking ban suggests that the ban did not increase smoking inside homes.

Second-hand smoke exposure in cars and respiratory health effects in children.

We examined potential associations of ever asthma, and symptoms of wheeze (past 12 months), hay fever, eczema and bronchitis (cough with phlegm) among school children exposed to second-hand smoke (SHS) in cars, using a modified Irish International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) protocol. 2,809 children of 13-14 yrs old and who selected randomly from post-primary schools throughout Ireland completed the 2007 ISAAC self-administered questionnaire. Adjusted OR (adjusted for sex, active smoking status of children interviewed and their SHS exposure at home) were estimated for the associations studied, using multivariable logistic regression techniques. Overall, 14.8% (13.9% in young males, 15.4% in young females) of Irish children aged 13-14 yrs old were exposed to SHS in cars. Although there was a tendency towards increased likelihood of both respiratory and allergic symptoms with SHS exposure in cars, wheeze and hay fever symptoms were significantly higher (adjusted OR 1.35 (95% CI 1.08-1.70) and 1.30 (1.01-1.67), respectively), while bronchitis symptoms and asthma were not significant (1.33 (0.92-1.95) and 1.07 (0.81-1.42), respectively). Approximately one in seven Irish schoolchildren are exposed to SHS in cars and could have adverse respiratory health effects. Further studies are imperative to explore such associations across different population settings.

Effects of cold weather on mortality: results from 15 European cities within the PHEWE project.

Weather-related health effects have attracted renewed interest because of the observed and predicted climate change. The authors studied the short-term effects of cold weather on mortality in 15 European cities. The effects of minimum apparent temperature on cause- and age-specific daily mortality were assessed for the cold season (October-March) by using data from 1990-2000. For city-specific analysis, the authors used Poisson regression and distributed lag models, controlling for potential confounders. Meta-regression models summarized the results and explored heterogeneity. A 1 degrees C decrease in temperature was associated with a 1.35% (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.16, 1.53) increase in the daily number of total natural deaths and a 1.72% (95% CI: 1.44, 2.01), 3.30% (95% CI: 2.61, 3.99), and 1.25% (95% CI: 0.77, 1.73) increase in cardiovascular, respiratory, and cerebrovascular deaths, respectively. The increase was greater for the older age groups. The cold effect was found to be greater in warmer (southern) cities and persisted up to 23 days, with no evidence of mortality displacement. Cold-related mortality is an important public health problem across Europe. It should not be underestimated by public health authorities because of the recent focus on heat-wave episodes.

Smoking, occupancy and staffing levels in a selection of Dublin pubs pre and post a national smoking ban, lessons for all.

BACKGROUND: On the 29th March 2004 the Irish government introduced a comprehensive workplace smoking ban to protect the health of workers. This study evaluates the impact the ban had on staffing levels, customer numbers and smoking rates in a sample of 38 public houses in Dublin. METHODS: A total of 38 public houses were visited prior to the introduction of the ban, each visit lasted at least three hours, and the number of staff, customers and the number of people smoking was recorded each hour. Follow-up visits were conducted exactly one year later, on the same day of the week and at the same time of day, allowing controlling for seasonal and weekday effects. RESULTS: There was a decrease (8.82%) in average staff levels while customer numbers increased by 11% and there was a dramatic reduction in numbers smoking on a visit to a pub (77.8%). CONCLUSIONS: The hospitality industry predicted major job losses as a consequence of the introduction of the smoking ban; this work has shown that there was no significant decrease in the number of staff employed or in customer numbers. There was full compliance, with no customers smoking inside the public houses following the introduction of the ban. The ban has been good for the industry, staff, and customers.