Tobacco Documents Online

Up And Away Smokers and Non-Smokers on Air Travel

Up And Away INTRODUCTION Although there has been much publicity around the world about the effects of tobacco smoke on the quality of air in indoor areas, scientists do not agree about its impact on indoor air quality. Environmental tobacco smoke, or ETS for short, is a mixture of sidestream and exhaled mainstream smoke. Sidestream smoke is wisps of smoke from the burning end of the cigarette, cigar or pipe. Immediately after sidestrearn and exhaled mainstream smoke are released into an indoor environment, they become greatly diluted and dispersed. As they do, they change both quantitatively and qualitatively. ETS becomes quite distinct from either mainstream or sidestream smoke. A significant proportion of adults smoke, so waiting in a: terminal building or on any flight a large number of air passengers are likely to be smokers. The Air We Breathe Seeing Smoke ETS is one of very few constituents of air that can be easily seeni and smelt. However, even where ETS is absent because smoking is banned, air quality problems often exist. MANY PEOPLE FLY Many people travel by air for the purpose of a holiday or a business trip and while they are travelling they will spend time in aircraft and air terminal buildings. Both smoking and non-smoking passengers have been accommodated by the provision of designated areas in aircraft and terminal buildings and most travellers seem to be happy with common sense arrangements such as these. Public opinion surveys around the world consistently report that most people - including non-smokers - support the provision of smoking and non-smoking areas, in aircraft and terminals and do not want bans. Even where smoking bans have been introduced, there can be second thoughts. The Things You Can't See Indoor air contains significant quantities of many invisible gases from a number of sources: carbon dioxide from people breathing out; nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide from vehicle exhaust, cookers and heaters; and formaldehyde and other gases from furnishings, carpets and insulation materials. In addition to gases, indoor air can contain minute particles of household dust and dust mites; fibres from clothing, carpets, insulation or furnishings; bacteria; and the spores from various fungi. Other indoor air constituents may include vapours from cleaning products,, insecticides and photocopying fluid, to name but a few. Any of these, in sufficient quantities can make people feel unwell. The Scientists Disagree Many scientists have studied ETS and have arrived at varying conclusions, as demonstrated in the scientific guides. ETS is a complex subject, and scientific bias can occur, such as failure to consider important life-style factors other than exposure to ETS, or through combining uncertain results from a number of studies to reach "definitive" conclusions. The simple fact is that scientists don't agree among themselves that ETS affects the health of non-smokers. Qantas Airlines has abandoned its three-month trial smoking-ban on short-haul international flights. Instead the airline now restricts its smoke-free flights to four days a week on~the Sydney to Auckland route, on which the trial took place. This decision followed a 2,000-passenger survey. The Austrian-based Lauda Air originally operated a smoking ban on all flights; it then allowed a weekly concession to smokers on its Sydney to Vienna flight. Since then it has dropped the smoking ban and permits smoking on its fltights.. Page 1

Up And Away Another example is the UK-based Guernsey Airlines, which introduced a smoking ban onflights out of London, and then reversed its decision after 18 months. Three months after the ban was lifted in April 1989, the airline's managing director reported no complaints from non-smokers. He also noted that as a third of British people were smokers, the airline felt it important to allow smoking in a third of the seats. In the case of terminal buildings, in October 1989, at the newly-opened Manchester Airport in England, a smoking ban was overturned and the authorities agreed to introduce smoking areas. Accommodating Everyone Discriminating against smokers - rather than making sensible, practical arrangements to suit everyone - risks alienating a large proportion of potential passengers. Travellers who smoke may choose to switch to other carriers which accommodate botK smokers and non-smokers. Some people, under certain circumstances, find smoki'ng a genuine annoyance but not all of us like the personal habits of those around us. Many things are annoying to air travellers: departure delays, lost or mishandled luggage, overbooked flights,, overcrowding, noisy fellow passengers, crying children, and so on. And on any sort of transport, the passenger next to you might have a heavy cold! It would be silly and impractical to attempt to ban all1of life's annoyances. Travel And Stress Travel can also involve a lot of delays. This adds to potential stress and boredom and can mean long, periods waiting in~ terminal buildings. Smoking in terminals, like smoking in planes, has come under attack in many, parts of the world. And yet there is no reason why airports should not provide for both smokers and non-smokers. Travelling can be stressful, especially flying, so it is particularly important that concerns about ETS should not introduce more difficulties. People who smoke shouU not be forced to stop only because they are travelling. ETS' And Indoor Air Quality Commercial aircraft are air-conditioned and, of course, it is essential that this air conditioning works effectively. If it does not, air quality problems and passenger discomfort will result. Swissair, the Swiss nmtional carrier, has pointed out that its passengers do not suffer great inconvenience from tobacco smoke and that cabin air on their flights is entirely changed and purified every 90 seconds. Researchers have also measured the differences in airquality between adjacent smoking and non-smoking sections. In one US study; for example, the amount of ETS detected in the air in the smoking section fell sharply when measured in the adjacent non-smoking section of an aircraft. Indoor air quality has been measured'by scientists in aircraft and amounts of ETS detected have consistently, been very low: Whilst it is not atallivalidlto compare exposure to ETS with that of active smoking it is possible to give an impression of the amounts of exposure involved (based on measurements of nicotine and particulate matter) as illustrated by the following example: Scientists calculate that where smoking is permitted, a non-smoking passenger would have to travel for hundreds of hours to be exposed to the "equivalent" of one cigarette. Other Factors In Indoor Air Quality In 1986, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences (NAS) undertook a study of cabin: air quality following a number of reported symptoms that were similar to those associated with sick buildings: sore eyes, scratchy throats, nasal irritation4 headaches, coughing, shortness of breath4 fatigue and dizziness. Among other findings the study reported that the ventilation rate in the economy class of a 747 is less than 7 cfrn of fresh air. The American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and~ Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) recommends in their standard 62-1989 a unitary ventilation rate of 20 cfm~per person with 15 cfm as an absolute minimum. N I Page 2

Up And Away Other substances found in the atmosphere of the average airliner include carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, ozone, particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds, microbes and cosmic radiation. The origins of these compounds can be dry ice, exhausts,, atmoshpheric and electrical discharges, fabrics, cleaning materials and processes, fuel, food and toilets, and even the passengers themselves. Independent air quality consultants have reviewed studies of air quality in commerciaD airliners and believe that the quality of cabin air is sub-standard'. They blame this on factors other than ETS One such independent consultant from Healthy Buildings International (US)) stated that "In the vast majority of cases, poor indoor air quality is caused by inadequate ventilation, often coupled with poor filtration. In an aircraft, as in any enclosed space, this forces passengers to breathe air contaminated by a variety of pollutants, many of which can have serious health effects."' He further stated that he did not expect the smoking ban on long-haul flights in the United States to result in clean air in the cabins of commercial airliners. Rather, he considered improvements to ventilation standards and systems to be the key measure necessary to improve indoor air quality. In view of the debate over fuel economy and air-fares it would be worthwhile noting that~ a paper presented at the International Symposium on Environmental Tobacco Smoke at McGill University stated that, improving ventilation to acceptable levels would cost an airline between 30 and 60 cents per passenger per trip depending on the size of aircraft~ and the length of the trip: If passengers do complain about smoke or smells, the first step should be to check the ventilationL The solution may be to ensure a good supply of fresh air. . Page 3

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