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Protection from eXDOSUFe to second-hand tobacco smoke. Policy recommeri DSRs are also difficult and costly to implement [Box 1). The problems encountered in imple- Box 1. Why not separately ventilate menting them have led some jurisdictions that designated smokingcooms(DSRs)? - had permitted DSRs to later change the law to Smoking moms are very difficult to insulate, eliminate them completely " The tendency to expensive toinstattandmaintain,areoften not M built create DSRs in the hospitality industry is par- : or operated according to specifications and can expose smokers and workers to con- ticularly troubling from a worker's health per- centrated SHS. spective, because doing so leads to exception- Air filtration and ventilation systems, even if ally high SHS exposure levels for employees. independent from ventilation systems in non- In addition, allowing - or even more problem- smoking areas. can only be designed for com- atic - mandating DSRswitl encourage or require - fort and are not effective_ in protecting.health businesses to invest in expensive and ineffective and'removfng t9kins ventilation systems, thus compromising future In theory, the law may statethatworkersmust 100% smoke-free legislation because of the not be required to work in, DSRsbut,in-prac- large investments that many institutions will tice, managers may pressure employees to - have made in these systems. 9 serve these areas in orderto please customers. Doors of DSRs-are opened constantly to pro- Outdoor and quasi-outdoor environments. vide service to this area and .ma even be left Research conducted and reviewed b the Y open use rooms become too smoky some Cal/EPA in consideration of its decision to smokers refuse to use them). The amount of - declare tobacco smoke a toxic air contaminant SHS polluting; non-smoking areas through shows that outdoor SHS concentrations can doors to DSRs is significant. be significant - sometimes reaching levels They add considerable costs and create enforce- observed indoors - depending on the number ment difficulties for enforcement agencies. of cigarettes smoked, location of adjacent walls, Source: Adapted from Ontario Campaign for Action on and meteorological conditions, such as wind tobacco speed and direction. la However, levels of SHS are, on average, lower than in indoor environ- semi-enclosed patios, where smoking is per- " ents where smoking is permitted. milted as well as security and door staff. m Certain localities75 76 and institutions do not For example, mean ambient concentrations of " nicotine adjacent to an outdoor smoking area allow smoking in outdoor areas such as on at an amusement park (2.4 pg/m3) were com- beaches,77,7e in outdoor stadiums,79 on patios parable to concentrations found indoors in the (covered or outdoor) 80 or within a certain dis- homes of smokers where 50 or fewer cigarettes once of building entrances.a Often, these deci- q were smoked per week (<3 pg/m3). Therefore, sions are made in response to public demand exposure to tobacco smoke outdoors can be once the indoor spaces are made smoke-free. significant for those who spend a considerable r amount of time in outdoor environments with Problems can arise when smoking is permitted tobacco smoke, such as wait staff on covered or at outdoor areas immediately adjacent to attached to indoor areas (e.g. patios) and where re +r 9 New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg referred to the problems created by legislation mandating ventilation systems in his testimony before the New York City Council Committee on Health, "The experience other cities and states have had with mandating such ventilation systems also is instructive. When legislators in those jurisdictions have realized that ventilation systems haven't solved the problem of eliminating second-hand smoke, and have proposed new action, what has been the result? Business owners protest -with some justification - that the money that government has encouraged them to invest in ventilation systems has been wasted." Testimony of Michael R Bloomberg, Mayorof Newyork City, before the Newyork City Council Committee on Health on Iint. 256 in Relation to the Prohibition of Smoking in Public Places and Places of Employment. Thursday, 10 October 2002 City Hall, New York New York. lhttp://www.nyc.govlhtm(ldoh/htm(/testiltesti1010-bloomberg.shtmi, accessed 26 February 2007). a 0 ar