Hospitality workers' attitudes and exposure to secondhand smoke, hazardous chemicals, and working conditions (original) (raw)
Related papers
Tobacco Control, 2005
To assess the impact on hospitality workers' exposure to secondhand smoke of New York's smoke-free law that prohibits smoking in all places of employment, including restaurants, bars, and bowling facilities. Design: Pre-post longitudinal follow up design. Settings: Restaurants, bars, and bowling facilities in New York State. Subjects: At baseline, 104 non-smoking workers in restaurants, bars, and bowling facilities were recruited with newspaper ads, flyers, and radio announcements. Of these, 68 completed a telephone survey and provided at least one saliva cotinine specimen at baseline. At three, six, and 12 month follow up studies, 47, 38, and 32 workers from the baseline sample of 68 completed a telephone survey and provided at least one saliva cotinine specimen. Intervention: The smoke-free law went into effect 24 July 2003. Main outcome measures: Self reported sensory and respiratory symptoms and exposure to secondhand smoke; self administered saliva cotinine specimens. Analyses were limited to subjects in all four study periods who completed a telephone survey and provided at least one saliva cotinine specimen. Results: All analyses were limited to participants who completed both an interview and a saliva specimen for all waves of data collection (n = 30) and who had cotinine concentrations (15 ng/ml (n = 24). Hours of exposure to secondhand smoke in hospitality jobs decreased from 12.1 hours (95% confidence interval (CI) 8.0 to 16.3 hours) to 0.2 hours (95% CI 20.1 to 0.5 hours) (p , 0.01) and saliva cotinine concentration decreased from 3.6 ng/ml (95% CI 2.6 to 4.7 ng/ml) to 0.8 ng/ml (95% CI 0.4 to 1.2 ng/ml) (p , 0.01) from baseline to the 12 month follow up. The prevalence of workers reporting sensory symptoms declined from 88% (95% CI 66% to 96%) to 38% (95% CI 20% to 59%) (p , 0.01); there was no change in the overall prevalence of upper respiratory symptoms (p , 0.16). Conclusion: New York's smoke-free law had its intended effect of protecting hospitality workers from exposure to secondhand smoke within three months of implementation. One year after implementation, the results suggest continued compliance with the law.
Exposure of hospitality workers to environmental tobacco smoke
2005
Objective: To determine quantitatively the extent of exposure of hospitality workers to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure during the course of a work shift, and to relate these results to the customer smoking policy of the workplace. Subjects: Three categories of non-smoking workers were recruited: (1) staff from hospitality premises (bars and restaurants) that permitted smoking by customers; (2) staff from smokefree hospitality premises; and (3) government employees in smokefree workplaces. All participants met with a member of the study team before they began work, and again at the end of their shift or work day. At each meeting, participants answered questions from a standardised questionnaire and supplied a saliva sample. Main outcome measures: Saliva samples were analysed for cotinine. The difference between the first and second saliva sample cotinine concentrations indicated the degree of exposure to ETS over the course of the work shift. Results: Hospitality workers in premises allowing smoking by customers had significantly greater increases in cotinine than workers in smokefree premises. Workers in hospitality premises with no restrictions on customer smoking were more highly exposed to ETS than workers in premises permitting smoking only in designated areas. Conclusions: Overall, there was a clear association between within-shift cotinine concentration change and smoking policy. Workers in premises permitting customer smoking reported a higher prevalence of respiratory and irritation symptoms than workers in smokefree workplaces. Concentrations of salivary cotinine found in exposed workers in this study have been associated with substantial involuntary risks for cancer and heart disease.
Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 2001
To investigate the knowledge of, and perceptions, attitudes and exposure to second-hand smoke (SHS) of staff in the New Zealand hospitality industry. Face-to-face interviews with bar staff, waiters, and bar and eating-place managers and owners in Wellington during the 1999-2000 summer. An analysis was made of the 1999 New Zealand Electoral Roll to find the number of those most exposed to SHS. 435 interviews with full data recovery were completed at 364 locations; 59% of interviewees were exposed to SHS, including 77% of those at licensed premises. More than half of those exposed to workplace smoke reported irritation from SHS to their throat or lungs. Less than a third were aware of the risk of strokes from SHS. Three-quarters of interviewees wanted some sort of smoking restriction in bars. The majority of interviewees were at risk of premature death and disease because of exposure to workplace smoke, and had an incomplete knowledge of the dangers to which they were exposed. More than 5,000 similar workers in New Zealand appear to share this risk. This industry needs legislation to make it smoke free.
Tobacco Smoke Exposure in Nonsmoking Hospitality Workers before and after a State Smoking Ban
Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention, 2010
Secondhand smoke exposure is estimated to account for 3000 cancer deaths per year. While several countries and states in the U.S. have passed comprehensive smoke-free laws to protect all employees, a significant number of workers are still not protected. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of passing a comprehensive smoking ban that included bars and restaurants on biomarkers of nicotine and carcinogen exposure. The urines of non-smoking employees (N=24) of bars and restaurants that allowed smoking prior to the smoke-free law were analyzed before and after the law was passed in Minnesota. The results showed significant reductions in both total cotinine and 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanol (NNAL) (free plus glucuronidated) after the ban was instituted. These results provide further support for the importance of protecting employees working in all venues.
Tobacco Control, 2010
Objectives The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of 100% smoke-free environment legislation on respiratory and sensory irritation symptoms and respiratory function among bar and restaurant workers from the city of Neuquén, Argentina. Methods Pre-ban and post-ban studies without a comparison group in an Argentinean city were conducted. A baseline survey and spirometric measurements were performed with a total of 80 bar and restaurant workers 1 month before (October 2007) and 3 months after (March 2008) the implementation of the new 100% smoke-free legislation. Results A significant reduction in secondhand smoke exposure was observed after the enactment and enforcement of the new legislation, and an important reduction in respiratory symptoms (from a pre-ban level of 57.5% to a post-ban level of only 28.8%). The reduction of sensory irritation symptoms was even higher. From 86.3% of workers who reported at least one sensory irritation symptom in October 2007, only 37.5% reported the same symptoms in March 2008. Also, data obtained by spirometry showed a significant forced vital capacity increase.
Secondhand Smoke Exposure in Hospitality Venues in Europe
Environmental Health Perspectives, 2008
Involuntary exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS) causes premature death and disease, including cancer and cardiovascular and respiratory diseases [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 2006]. Hospitality workers (i.e., workers in bars, pubs, restaurants, and other venues) are exposed to much higher levels of SHS compared with other workers (Hahn et al. 2006; Siegel and Skeer 2003; Wakefield et al. 2005). A review including 13 studies conducted in the United States that measured SHS exposure among hospitality workers concluded that the excess lung cancer mortality risk would be 410 deaths per 100,000 workers exposed (Siegel and Skeer 2003), a risk that could be even higher in countries with higher levels of exposure (Lopez et al. 2006). Different studies have also shown higher prevalence of respiratory symptoms among hospitality workers that decreased significantly in those countries that implemented smoke-free policies in the hospitality sector (Allwright et al. 2005). In the last few years, some European countries, including Ireland and Italy, have implemented complete smoke-free policies in workplaces, including hospitality venues
Exposure of US workers to environmental tobacco smoke
Environmental Health Perspectives, 1999
The concentrations of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) to which workers are exposed have been measured, using nicotine or other tracers, in diverse workplaces. Policies restricting workplace smoking to a few designated areas have been shown to reduce concentrations of ETS, although the effectiveness of such policies varies among work sites. Policies that ban smoking in the workplace are the most effective and generally lower all nicotine concentrations to less than 1 pg/m3; by contrast, mean concentrations measured in workplaces that allow smoking generally range from 2 to 6 pg/M3 in offices, from 3 to 8 pg/M3 in restaurants, and from 1 to 6 pg/M3 in the workplaces of blue-collar workers. Mean nicotine concentrations from 1 to 3 pg/m3 have been measured in the homes of smokers. Furthermore, workplace concentrations are highly variable, and some concentrations are more than 10 times higher than the average home levels, which have been established to cause lung cancer, heart disease, and other adverse health effects. For the approximately 30% of workers exposed to ETS in the workplace but not in the home, workplace exposure is the principal source of ETS. Among those with home exposures, exposures at work may exceed those resulting from home. We conclude that a significant number of U.S. workers are exposed to hazardous levels of ETS.