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Nicotine & Tobacco Research Advance Access originally published online on April 3, 2009
Nicotine & Tobacco Research 2009 11(4):381-386; doi:10.1093/ntr/ntp026
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© The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Strength of smoke-free air laws and indoor air quality

Kiyoung Lee, Ellen J. Hahn, Heather E. Robertson, Seongjik Lee, Suzann L. Vogel and Mark J. Travers

Kiyoung Lee, Sc.D., Graduate School of Public Health and Institute of Health and Environment, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea
Ellen J. Hahn, D.N.S., Tobacco Policy Research Program, College of Nursing, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY
Heather E. Robertson, M.P.A., Tobacco Policy Research Program, College of Nursing, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY
Seongjik Lee, M.A., Tobacco Policy Research Program, College of Nursing, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY
Suzann L. Vogel, M.P.A., Tobacco Policy Research Program, College of Nursing, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY
Mark J. Travers, Ph.D., Department of Health Behavior, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY

Corresponding Author: Kiyoung Lee, Sc.D., Graduate School of Public Health and Institute of Health and Environment, Seoul National University, 28 Yeungun-dong, Jongro-gu, Seoul 110-460, Korea. Telephone: +82 2 740 8881; Fax: +82 2 745 9104; E-mail: cleanair{at}snu.ac.kr


  Abstract

Introduction: Smoke-free air laws have been implemented in many Kentucky communities to protect the public from the harmful effects of secondhand smoke exposure. The impact of different strengths of smoke-free air laws on indoor air quality was assessed.

Methods: Indoor air quality in hospitality venues was assessed in seven communities before and after comprehensive smoke-free air laws and in two communities only after partial smoke-free air laws. One community was measured three times: before any smoke-free air law, after the initial partial law, and after the law was strengthened to cover all workplaces and public places with few exemptions. Real-time measurements of particulate matters with 2.5 µm aerodynamic diameter or smaller (PM2.5) were obtained.

Results: When comprehensive smoke-free air laws were implemented, indoor PM2.5 concentrations decreased significantly from 161 to 20 µg/m3. In one community that implemented a comprehensive smoke-free law after initially passing a partial law, indoor PM2.5 concentrations were 304 µg/m3 before the law, 338 µg/m3 after the partial law, and 9 µg/m3 after the comprehensive law.

Discussion: The study clearly demonstrated that partial smoke-free air laws do not improve indoor air quality. A significant linear trend indicated that PM2.5 levels in the establishments decreased with fewer numbers of burning cigarettes. Only comprehensive smoke-free air laws are effective in reducing indoor air pollution from secondhand tobacco smoke.


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