Think about others

We already know that second hand smoke hurts others in an enclosed area.  A new study shows that people may inhale high levels of secondhand smoke even on outside patios and sidewalk cafes.

The U.S. surgeon general has found that indoor secondhand smoke kills nearly 50,000 non-smokers a year. Authors say their paper, in the May 2007 issue of the Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association, is one of the first published studies to show that outdoor cigarette smoke could pose a risk.

Stanford University researchers set up air monitors at 10 spots near campus. They focused on particles found in smoke, called particulate matter-2.5, which are about 30 times narrower than a human hair. These microscopic particles, some of which can cause cancer, are able to penetrate deep inside the lungs, the study shows. It was financed by the state of California and the Flight Attendant Medical Research Institute.

Clean air typically has fewer than 20 micrograms per cubic meter of such particles, but outdoor smoke plumes may have more than 1,000 micrograms, says lead author Neil Klepeis of Stanford. Someone who sits within 2 feet of a single cigarette at an outdoor cafe could inhale as much pollution as in a smoky tavern, Klepeis says.

Klepeis notes that restaurant workers often get very close to customers while taking orders and serving food. And patrons who breathe in secondhand smoke from several cigarettes over a few hours could be exposed to average daily levels higher than those considered safe by the Environmental Protection Agency, he says.

Indoor smoke can linger for hours, but researchers found that outdoor smoke disappears shortly after a cigarette is extinguished. People can protect themselves by staying upwind from smoke or by sitting at least 6 feet away from a single smoker, Klepeis says, or further away from a group of smokers.

James Repace, a visiting assistant clinical professor at the Tufts University School of Medicine, who was not involved in the study, says the report helps establish a scientific basis for laws restricting outdoor tobacco use.

More than 1,000 communities now restrict outdoor smoking, according to the American Non-smokers’ Rights Foundation. More than 500 curtail smoking in parks, beaches and other outdoor spots. Others curb smoking near doors, ventilation systems, automated teller machines and even movie lines.

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