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Action on Smoking and Health
A National Legal-Action Antismoking Organization Entirely Supported by Tax-Deductible Contributions
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Follow Up: More on Delaware Air Study Following State Smoking Ban [09/14-5]
Excerpts from: Behavior: Just Don't Breathe In
For a study assessing the effect of the smoking law, a researcher measured air quality at eight indoor entertainment establishments before and after the law took effect, as well as at locations with high vehicular traffic.
The study, in the current Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, found that before the smoking law, the level of potentially dangerous particulates in the entertainment spots was, on average, more than double the level on Interstate 95 in Delaware. The level of one kind of particulate was higher than that found at the tunnel.
But after the law took effect, the study's author, James Repace, an expert on secondhand smoke who is now teaching at Tufts, returned to the eight locations. The particulates in the indoor air, he found, had dropped 90 percent. Mr. Repace said the findings undercut the contention that a good ventilation system is all that is needed. "It is very clear that ventilation isn't working to control tobacco smoke," he said.
Although there is disagreement on the dangers of secondhand smoke, the study argued that Delaware's law would result in fewer health problems for bar and casino workers.
click here to view the abstract of this study
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