New Zealand - high smoking pollution outdoors of hospitality venues, smoking pollution by far the worst inside cars with children present.

March 8, 2011 - Researchers are calling for Australian-style restrictions on outdoor smoking at bars, cafes and restaurants, after finding high levels of air pollution, and that much of it drifts inside. (Western Australia - even in outdoor, well-ventilated areas, second-hand smoke presented a health risk..)

The smoke tests by Otago University researchers around Wellington found the highest levels of fine-particle pollution w"ere in the partially enclosed outdoor smoking areas of hospitality venues - on average 72 micrograms per cubic metre of air. But the levels were also high - 54 micrograms per cubic metre - inside bars in areas next to to the outdoor smoking areas. Areas further inside bars and restaurants had much lower levels.

Nick Wilson and colleagues write: "This suggests there is smoke drift from secondhand smoke in the outdoor smoking areas to the inside." (environmental tobacco smoke, ets, passive smoking second hand smoke, shs, involuntary smoking, sidestream smoke)

PAPER: A persisting secondhand smoke hazard in urban public places: results from fine particulate (PM2.5) air sampling, Nick Wilson, Richard Edwards, Rhys Parry, Journal of the New Zealand Medical Association, 04-March-2011, Vol 124 No 1330, ABSTRACT..

The authors urge extending statutory smokefree areas to cover half of seated outdoor areas of hospitality venues, as is done in in parts of Canada, the US and Australia. "This could be justified on grounds of protecting workers' health and fairness to non-smokers - allowing some reasonable access to semi-smokefree outdoor seating - and is likely to have high public political acceptability."

The paper adds that banning smoking in cars carrying children - an idea supported by Associate Health Minister Tariana Turia - "is probably the priority new smokefree law required in New Zealand". The concentration of fine-particle pollution from tobacco smoke can be 51 times greater inside a car with the windows closed than the levels measured outside bars. There is near universal support for this policy, even among smokers, although not among policymakers.

This is despite the estimated effects of secondhand smoke on children including 50 deaths a year and thousands of cases of illness, largely from exposure in homes and cars.

This is a FACT: Children's exposure to second-hand smoke is dangerous, especially in cars..

Reference: Smoke testers call for outdoor ban by Martin Johnston, NZHerald.co.nz, 3/7/2011.

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