Results from Surveys of Environmental Tobacco Smoke in Offices and Restaurants

Surveys were conducted in several major cities in order to estimate the exposures of occupants in offices and restaurants to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS). Concentrations of ETS were estimated by measuring vapor phase nicotine and ultraviolet particulate matter, an empirically derived parameter providing an upper limit for the contribution of ETS to respirable suspended particles (RSP). Area samples were collected with portable air sampling systems (PASS), which are battery-powered devices contained in otherwise ordinary briefcases, a design allowing sampling to be performed unobtrusively. Nicotine was determined with gas chromatography and nitrogen specific detection. UV-PM was determined spectrophotometrically by analyzing methanolic extracts of RSP collected after separation at 3.5 μμm with an inertial impact or. For offices, mean concentrations of nicotine, UV-PM, and RSP were 4.8, 27, and 126 μg/m3, respectively. Mean concentrations of nicotine, UV-PM, and RSP for restaurants were 5.1, 36, and 126μg/m3, respectively.