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Air Pollutants in Bars and Restaurants Drop 76% After CT State Smoking Ban [06/02-5]
Excerpts from: Pollutants drop 76 percent in bars and restaurants after smoking ban
Newsday [06/02/04]
A new study on the air quality of bars and restaurants after the state's smoking ban took effect has reached a predictable conclusion the air is cleaner after cigarettes were prohibited.
Researchers concede the findings are not a surprise, but added that the study is helpful in showing the effects of smoking bans.
The survey shows that airborne particles released by large numbers of burning cigarettes dropped 76 percent within weeks after the ban that began April 1, The Hartford Courant reported.
Researchers took air samples at seven Hartford bars and restaurants that allowed smoking before the ban. Data was collected before the prohibition on March 25 and after on April 23.
The establishments tested included Bourbon Street North, Black-Eyed Sally's, Coach's Sports Bar & Grille, On the Rocks, McKinnon's Irish Pub, The Half Door and The Spigot Cafe.
The tiny particles that were measured are deeply inhaled into the lungs and can cause health problems. Travers noted that they also are a marker for the roughly 4,000 hazardous chemicals emitted by smoldering cigarettes.
The lower baseline average, he said, led to a slightly lower decline in post-ban measures, compared with some other cities. The 76 percent drop in Hartford compares with an 82 percent reduction in a study of seven cities that have enacted smoking bans. A before-and-after study in Delaware found a 90 percent drop.
The EPA has set 65 micrograms per cubic meter as the 24-hour limit for exposure to these particles. The Hartford study found that the average level of such indoor pollution before the ban was 104 micrograms per cubic meter. After the ban, the average level dropped to 25.
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