Background: Data on the typical daily exposure of non-smokers to second-hand smoke (SHS) are limited. The aim of this study was to estimate the SHS exposure encountered by adults and children in Scotland and to examine the proportion of total exposure received within different microenvironments. Methods: Primary research was carried out to gather information on SHS concentrations within cars in both simulated and real-life settings. Observational work was also carried out to determine the prevalence of exposure to SHS in cars. Further work was carried out to gather information on occupational SHS exposure. Data from all of these components were combined with data from previously published sources to produce estimates of how much SHS-derived PM2.5 exposure is typically received by adults and children within different micro-environments. Results: The contribution to total SHS exposure from each micro-environment was calculated. This was carried out for a child living in: a non-smoking home; a home where only the father smokes; a home where only the mother smokes; and a home where both parents smoke. In addition to this the equivalent dose of SHS inhaled (expressed as a mass) were also calculated for each of the micro-environments. This method was also used to determine the SHS contribution of different micro-environments for adult non-smokers. Exposure calculations were carried out assuming that exposure in the home was reduced to the levels found in non-smoking homes and the contribution from the remaining micro-environments unchanged. Observations identified that 2.4% of cars carrying children exposed children to SHS and exposure intensities during smoking car journeys can be particularly high with peak exposures ranging from 55 to 886 μgm-3. Conclusion: This is the first study to estimate the SHS exposure contributions from different microenvironments encountered by children and adults in Scotland. This study indicates that encouraging behavioural change in terms of smoking in home and car micro-environments has the greatest potential to reduce non-smokers’ daily exposure to tobacco derived fine particulate matter.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:582739 |
| Date | January 2013 |
| Creators | Apsley, Andrew |
| Publisher | University of Aberdeen |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://digitool.abdn.ac.uk:80/webclient/DeliveryManager?pid=201722 |
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