New Research on Secondhand Smoke Finds Significant Hazards

Media Contact: Diane Clay For Immediate Release
Email: diane-clay@ouhsc.edu Feb. 12, 2010
Phone: (405) 271-2323

New Research on Secondhand Smoke Finds Significant Hazards
Report focuses on Oklahomans in the workplace

OKLAHOMA CITY – New research by the Oklahoma Tobacco Research Center (OTRC) shows that concentrations of secondhand tobacco smoke inhaled in smoking rooms of restaurants and bars are exceptionally high and hazardous to health.

According to the study, which appears in the center’s new report “Tobacco Smoke Pollution in Oklahoma Workplaces,” the average particulate level measured in restaurant smoking rooms was beyond the hazardous extreme based on levels established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The level found in bars was even worse.

“These levels are exceptionally high and not healthy for the employees and patrons exposed to particles found in secondhand smoke,” said Heather Basara, M.D., an industrial hygienist and lead investigator on the research.

Tobacco smoke levels were evaluated based on measurements of very fine suspended particulates in the air, particles smaller than 2.5 microns, which come primarily from tobacco smoke.

Levels averaged 380 µg/m3 (micrograms per cubic meter of air) in the restaurant smoking rooms tested, and 655 µg/m3 in the bars. Restaurants with no smoking averaged just 26 µg/m3.

The EPA scale ranks outdoor levels of particulate pollution as “unhealthy” at 66-150, “very unhealthy”’ at 151-250, and “hazardous” at higher concentrations such as the levels found in the Oklahoma restaurant smoking rooms and bars tested for this report.

Robert McCaffree, M.D., Co-Director of OTRC, said, “Secondhand smoke exposure is a serious health hazard, accounting for approximately 700 deaths a year in Oklahoma, mostly from heart disease – including heart attacks – and lung cancer. Even brief exposure is harmful. Because this exposure is readily preventable, business owners and public policy makers would be well-advised to act as soon as possible to assure smokefree environments for all public places and all indoor workplaces.”

Particulates were monitored using a TSI Sidepak AM510 Personal Aerosol Monitor. Sixty-second average readings for at least 30 minutes were recorded in 67 indoor locations in central Oklahoma; following nationally recognized protocols established by the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, New York. Time weighted averages were calculated for each of the locations. The full report is accessible at the OTRC Web site at www.ouhsc.edu/otrc/research/.
The Oklahoma Tobacco Research Center is part of the OU Cancer Institute at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. The mission of the OTRC is to reduce the burden of tobacco related health problems in Oklahoma by stimulating the generation and dissemination of knowledge and the implementation and diffusion of effective practices.

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A Human Health Issue

Yesterday, the Oklahoman published an op-ed written by Dr. Janet Spradlin on why Oklahoma needs to go smoke free.

Read it here. http://www.newsok.com/article/3436602?searched=spradlin&custom_click=search

Restaurant Owners are Starting to Support Smoke Free Oklahoma

http://www.okcfox.com/newsroom/top_stories/videos/kokh_vid_994.shtml

Last night Fox 25 in Oklahoma City ran a story about the effort in Oklahoma to make our state 100% smoke free. The American Heart Association has been working with other health organizations across the state to push HB 2343 which would protect all Oklahoma workers from the dangers of secondhand smoke.

Smoke Free Oklahoma Lobby Day

Debbie Hite, Metro Heart Association Director, visits with volunteers during Smoke Free OK Lobby Day.

This past week the American Heart Association participated in Smoke Free Oklahoma Lobby Day. Along with the American Cancer Society and the Lung Association, volunteers lobbyed their state legisltors on behalf of legislation that would make all public places smoke free.

A recent poll, done by Wilson Strategies, was conducted on January 24-25, 2009 in Oklahoma. This poll shows:
*68% of voters believe the rights of customers and employees to breathe clean air is more important than the rights of smokers to smoke and owners to allow smoking.
*59% of Oklahomans SUPPORT a smoke-free environment for Oklahoma workers and families
*52% of voters say they are more likely to vote to re-elect their state legislator if that legislator supports a smoke-free law
*94% of Oklahomans believe secondhand smoke is a health hazard – 59% say it is a “serious” health hazard, 22% say it is a “moderate” health hazard
*Smoke-free laws will increase business - - 18% of those surveyed say they would go out MORE OFTEN if restaurants and bars were smoke-free

Do you have a personal story re: secondhand smoke? I would love to hear it!