1. Impact of an Indoor Smoking Ban on Bar Workers’ Exposure to Secondhand Smoke
- Author
-
Susan J. Bondy, Peter Selby, Roberta Ferrence, Nancy Kreiger, Ana Florescu, Nicole R. Greenspan, Bo Zhang, Heather Travis, and Neal L. Benowitz
- Subjects
Adult ,Male ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Time Factors ,Passive smoking ,Smoking prevention ,Smoking Prevention ,medicine.disease_cause ,Mass Spectrometry ,Occupational medicine ,Young Adult ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,Occupational Exposure ,Surveys and Questionnaires ,Environmental health ,Food Industry ,Humans ,Medicine ,Sidestream smoke ,Cotinine ,Secondhand smoke ,Ontario ,Smoke ,business.industry ,Smoking ,Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health ,Middle Aged ,chemistry ,Air Pollution, Indoor ,Linear Models ,Regression Analysis ,Female ,Smoking Cessation ,Tobacco Smoke Pollution ,Smoking ban ,business ,Biomarkers ,Chromatography, Liquid - Abstract
Objective: To evaluate the impact of an indoor smoke-free bylaw in Toronto, Ontario, implemented June 2004. Methods: We used a pre-post comparison design to assess secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure among 79 eligible bar workers in Toronto, Ontario (bylaw enacted), and 49 eligible bar workers in a control community, Windsor, Ontario (no bylaw change), at four times: preban, and 1, 2, and 9 months postban. Results: SHS exposure time and urinary cotinine level were substantially reduced in Toronto bar workers immediately after the ban by 94% (from 7.8 to 0.5 hours) and 68% (from 24.2 to 7.8 ng/mL), respectively. The reduction was sustained throughout follow-up. There was no change among Windsor bar workers before and after the ban. Conclusions: Compliance with the ban was high, and the ban led to a substantial reduction in SHS exposure.
- Published
- 2009