The short-term impact of national smoke-free workplace legislation on passive smoking and tobacco use.

OBJECTIVES: This study sought to evaluate the short-term impact of national smoke-free workplace legislation on employee exposure to environmental tobacco smoke at work and on employee smoking habits. METHODS: We performed 2 cross-sectional studies in 9 medium-sized and large Finnish workplaces, before and after implementation of national smoke-free workplace legislation. We assessed tobacco smoke exposure via questionnaire and indoor air nicotine measurements. RESULTS: Exposure to environmental tobacco smoke declined considerably after the legislation was implemented. Tobacco consumption among smokers diminished. Nicotine concentrations fell significantly. CONCLUSIONS: Legislation was more efficient than voluntary workplace-specific smoking restrictions in reducing passive smoking and cigarette consumption.

Smoking and exposure to tobacco smoke at medium-sized and large-scale workplaces.

BACKGROUND: The objective of the present study was to assess the smoking prevalence of workers, the attitudes toward smoking, and exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) in different work environments. METHODS: A questionnaire survey and indoor air quality (IAQ) measurements including the concentration of gaseous nicotine in indoor air were performed in 10 medium-sized and large-scale workplaces representing industrial, service, and office environments. The questionnaire was distributed to all workers (n=1471) in 10 workplaces. IAQ measurements were performed in 4-7 locations in each workplace. RESULTS: Altogether 1027 (70%) employees, of whom 31% were women, responded to the questionnaire. Prevalence of daily smokers was 28.3% (32.3% for men and 22.9% for women). The prevalence was highest among workers in the service sector (32.7%) and lowest in offices (21.6%). Among smokers, 86% of men and 75% of women smoked inside the building. Exposures greater than one hour to ETS were highest in industry (66.3%) and lowest in services (42.6%). Non-smokers complained more often than the regular smokers about the spreading of tobacco smoke to non-smoking areas, and they felt that workplace smoking was a significant discomfort. Mean concentration of nicotine was highest in service environments (3.0 microg/m(3)) and lowest in offices (0.6 microg/m(3)). CONCLUSIONS: According to the present questionnaire survey and IAQ measurements, smoking habits and exposure to tobacco smoke varied considerably depending on the position of the employees and the type of the workplace.

The attitudes of occupational health personnel to smoking at work.

Attitudes of occupational health care professionals toward smoking and their activity to address smoking issues were investigated by a questionnaire survey. Data were also collected on employees' exposure to environmental tobacco smoke and on smoking policies that existed in workplaces. Questionnaires were mailed to all occupational health care centers (n = 1,004) in Finland. The prevalence of daily smokers was 9.6% among physicians and 3.6% among nurses; 15% and 11%, respectively smoked occasionally. Smoking restrictions were enforced in more than 70% of all workplaces, but only 3.6% of them had a total smoking ban. Nonsmoking professionals were in favor of smoke-fee workplaces and smoking restrictions significantly more often than their smoking colleagues. Nonsmokers also regarded smoking as a serious problem to the organizational climate of workplaces. Almost half of nonsmoking respondents, but only 11% of daily smokers, would totally ban smoking in workplaces. Although the personal smoking status of the respondent had a strong effect on attitudes to smoking regulations, it did not have a clear influence on interest in discussing smoking issues when seeing patients. Nurses were more active in addressing smoking issues than physicians. Occupational health professionals of large companies reported stricter smoking policies at work than those who represented small enterprises

Measurement and analysis of nicotine and other VOCs in indoor air as an indicator of passive smoking.

In Finland the Tobacco Act was amended in 1994 to include workplaces. The developed method for estimating passive smoking, or environmental tobacco smoke utilised the widely used measurement of volatile organic compounds in indoor air quality surveys. The method is based on active sorbent sampling, thermal desorption and gas chromatography/mass selective detection (GC/MS) analysis and it has been tested in a chamber and in field conditions. The method can be used simultaneously to measure volatile organic compounds and exposure to tobacco smoke. We recommend nicotine, collected by active sampling, as an indicator for the evaluation of the exposure to environmental tobacco smoke spreading from smoking areas.