Abstract
Exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS) is a serious threat to public health, and a significant cause of lung cancer and heart disease among non-smokers. Even though Greek hospitals have been declared smoke free since 2002, smoking is still evident. Keeping the above into account, the aim of this study was to quantify the levels of exposure to environmental tobacco smoke and to estimate the attributed lifetime excess heart disease and lung cancer deaths per 1000 of the hospital staff, in a large Greek public hospital. Environmental airborne respirable suspended particles (RSP) of PM2.5 were performed and the personnel’s excess mortality risk was estimated using risk prediction formulas. Excluding the intensive care unit and the operating theatres, all wards and clinics were polluted with environmental tobacco smoke. Mean SHS-RSP measurements ranged from 11 to 1461 μg/m3 depending on the area. Open wards averaged 84 μg/m3 and the managing wards averaged 164 μg/m3 thus giving an excess lung cancer and heart disease of 1.12 (range 0.23-1.88) and 11.2 (range 2.3–18.8) personnel in wards and 2.35 (range 0.55-12.2) and 23.5 (range 5.5–122) of the managing staff per 1000 over a 40-year lifespan, respectively. Conclusively, SHS exposure in hospitals in Greece is prevalent and taking into account the excess heart disease and lung cancer mortality risk as also the immediate adverse health effects of SHS exposure, it is clear that proper implementation and enforcement of the legislation that bans smoking in hospitals is imperative to protect the health of patients and staff alike.
Highlights
Second Hand Smoke (SHS), emitted from cigarettes is a known human toxin and carcinogen
It is common knowledge that there is no lower threshold for tobacco carcinogenesis, either regarding lung cancer or tumors in other tissues that are indirectly exposed, since carcinogens absorbed in the lung are distributed throughout the body and have been proven to create or aggravate tumor genesis [9,10]
The mean SHS-respirable suspended particles (RSP) level of open wards was estimated at 84 ug/m3 and ranged between 17 and 141 ug/m3 with the lower readings found in children’s wards
Summary
Second Hand Smoke (SHS), emitted from cigarettes is a known human toxin and carcinogen. It contains over 3000 chemicals out of which at least 50 are known or suspected to be carcinogenic, whilst over 200 are regarded as poisonous [1,2]. It is common knowledge that there is no lower threshold for tobacco carcinogenesis, either regarding lung cancer or tumors in other tissues that are indirectly exposed, since carcinogens absorbed in the lung are distributed throughout the body and have been proven to create or aggravate tumor genesis [9,10]. The legislation covered public services, educational institutions and public transport stations / public vehicles
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
