Fine Particulate Matter Measurements in Swiss Hospitality Venues: What Is the Effect of Spatial Separation Between Smoking and Non-smoking Areas?

Abstract

ISEE-0214 Background and Objective: Worldwide, a variety of non-smoking policies have been implemented for public places. In Switzerland, four different smoking regulations can be encountered in hospitality venues within a relatively small geographic area: i) complete smoking bans, ii) designating of smoking and non-smoking areas in the same room, iii) separating smoking and non-smoking rooms, and iv) no restrictions. The impact of such regulations on ETS exposure levels is still unclear. Methods: We performed 124 measurements of particulate matter (PM2.5) in 95 hospitality venues. We compared PM2.5 concentrations between venues with different smoking regulations, taking relevant characteristics of the venue into account, such as the type of ventilation, the presence of additional PM2.5 sources and outdoor fine particle concentration. In particular, we evaluated the effect of different types of spatial separation between smoking and non-smoking areas within the same venue on PM2.5 levels. Results: In non-smoking venues with a complete smoking ban, the geometric mean PM2.5 level was 20.4 μg/m3. In venues with smoking restrictions, geometric mean PM2.5 levels were 56.5 μg/m3 in non-smoking areas and 119.0 μg/m3 in smoking areas. In venues without smoking restrictions mean PM2.5 concentration was 98.5 μg/m3. PM2.5 levels in non-smoking areas that were located in the same room as smoking-areas were 75.6 μg/m3. Even if the non-smoking areas were spatially separated into two rooms in the same venue, geometric mean PM2.5 levels were still considerably increased compared to entirely smoke-free venues (52.2 μg/m3 vs. 20.4 μg/m3). Conclusions: Significantly increased PM2.5 levels were found in non-smoking areas if smoking was allowed anywhere in the venue. This study shows that spatial separation of smoking room does not effectively protect non-smoking areas from ETS.