Tobacco Documents Online

-3UL-1 1-GJ63 WED 17 =L3S C ti:. E YlASH DC . C+iY+i+Jsi+ii~filal t'fUl~t Uu71 Hir ~n{] i-{afllt~GOil / Agency tAN R-44451 P. ,_. 5 'EPA, Indoor Air Facts Environmental Tobacco Smoke Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS) is one of the most widespread and harmful indoor air poklutants. ETS cornes from strcondhand smoke exhaled by smokers and sidestream smoke emitted from the burning end of cigarettes, cigars, and pip+es. ETS is a mixture of Irritating gases and carcinogenic tar particles. It is a known cause of lung cancer and respiratory sympt.ums, and has been linked to heart dise.ase. Breathing in ETS is also known as'involun- tary' or 'pa3siv+oy smoking. Whaft The Big Dea! About ALit#{e Smoke? In the United States, 50 million smokers annually smoke apprrrximatciy 600 billion cigarettes, 4 billion cigars,, and the equivalent of I I billion pipesfut of tobacco. Since people spend approximately 90 percent of their time indoors, this means that about 467,000 tons of tobacco are burned indoors each year. Over a 16-hour day, the average smoker smokes about two cigarettes per hour, and takes about ten minutes per cigarette. Thus; it takes only- a few smokers in a givert'space to release a tnore-or- less steady stream of ET S into the indoor air. In 1985, three major bodies were independently convened to consider the public health implications of passive smoking. Commissioned by the U.S. Public Health Service under the Surgeon General, by the National Research Council (NRC) at the r+tcluest of EPA, and by the cortgressionally-cnandated Interagency 'Task Force on Environmental Cancer, Heart, and Lung Disease, the three bodies arrived at a consensus: passive smoking significantly increases the risk of lung cancer In adults. In the words of the Surgeon General, 'i su~bstantiAl number of the lung eancer deaths that occur imong nonsmokers can be nttributed to i.flvuluntairy sxn+aking.' Moreover, there was agreement that passive smoking substantially increases respiratory illness in children and the NRC recommended eliminating ET5 from the environ- ments of small children_ No. 5 Why ETS ia Narm#u! $ecause the organic material in tobacco doesn't burn completely, cigarette smoke contains more than 4,700 chemical compounds, including: carbon monoxide, nicotine, carcinogenic tars, sui fur dioxide, ammonia, nitrogen oxides, vinyl chloride, hydrogen cyanide, formaldehyde, radionuclides, benzene, and arsenic. These chemicals have been shown in animal studies to be highly toxic. Many are treated as ha7ardous when emitted into outdoor air by toxic-waste dumps and chemical plants. There are 43 carcinogenic compounds in tobacco smoke. In addition, some substances are rtutagenic, which means they can cause permanent, often harnful, changes in the genetic material of cells. EPA research has shown that ETS is the major source of muta.gens indoors when smoking occurs. Higher levels of mutagenic particles are found in homes with E.'i'S than in homes with wood stoves or in outdoor urban environments with numerous diesel trucks and buses. Many studies have shown that nonsmokers absorb ETS components in their body flttids. The effect of ETS on nonsmokers depends on the duration of cxposure, According to the National Research Council, shoct-term visitors to a smoking area are most likely to be annoyed by the tobacco smoke odors, whereas nonsmoking occupants of the area are more likely to complain about irritating ef feets to the eyes, nose or throat. Long-term exposure to ETS may lead to more serious health effects. Impact On Children Qassive smoking induces serious respiratory symp- tonts in children. Wheezing, coughing and sputum production among children of smoking parents increase by 20 perc¢nt to 80 percent depending on the symptom being assessed and the number of smokers in the hou~ehoid. Asthmatic children are particularly at risk.

TUL-11-9 H~ LlED 17 Z C-1 •D V ° E WASH LC; Children of smokers have significantly higher rate;t of hospitalization for bronchitis and Qneu- monia, and a number of studies report that chronic car infections are more common In young children whose parents smoke. Also lung development is slower in children exposed to ETS, Lung probltrns caused by ETS exposure in childhood can extend into adult life. FETS And Cancer The U.S. Surgeon Gencral and the NRC agree that ETS can cause canc~r. T`he NRC estimates that the risk of lung cancer is roughly 30 percent higher for nonsmoking spouses of smokers than for nonsmoking spouses of nonsmokers. In 1986, an estimated 23,000 LJ.S, nonsmokers dicd from lung cancer, and the Surgeon General attributes a substantial number of those deaths to passive smoking. icTS And Heart Disease The Interagency Task Force on Environmental Cancer, Heart, and Lung Disease Workshop on ETS concluded that the cffects of ETS on the heart may be of even greater concern than its cancer-causing effects on the lungs, ETS aggravates the condition of people with heart diseaso, and sevcral studies have linked involuntary smoking with heart discaw ETS's Contribution To 4rzdtor Air Pollution There are many potential sources of 'indoor air pollution, including chemical5 emanating from building materiais, furnishings, and consumer pro- ducts; gases from combustion appliances like space heaters and furnaces; and biological contaminants from a variety of sources. Secausr+ cigarettes, pipes, and cigars produce clouds of tat particles when smoked, ETS is a major contributor of particulate indoor air pollution. ETS also contributes numerous toxic gases to indoor air, including carbon monoxide, formaldehyde and arnmonia. Field studies, controlled experiments, and rrtathc- matical mtx#el3sho'w that, under typical conditions of smoking and ventllation. ETS diffuses rapidly throughout buildings and homes, parsists for long periods after smoking ends, and represents one of the strongest sources of indoor-air particulate pot- lutlon in buildings where smoking is permitted. Studies of indoor air quality in commercial and public buildings show that particulate levels in areas where smoking is permitted are considerably higher than in nonsmoking areas. Studies using personal air monitors have shown that a single smokcr in a home can double the amount of particulate air pallutirrrt inhaled by nonsmoking members of the household. Evidence Q1` Non3moker Exposure Nicotine, a chemical unique to tobacco, has been found to be a widespread air contaminant in build- ings where smoking occurs. Nicotine breaks down into cotinine as it passcs through the boti y. Cotinine can be detected and measured in the saliva, blood, and urine of nonsmokers, indicating they have absorbed tobacco smoke from the air. Concerttra- tions of cotinirte have been found in the body fluids of infants of smoking parents, and of adults who were unaware they had been cxposed to E'1'S. Removal Of ETS From Indoor Air Environmental tobacco smoke can he totally removcd from the indoor air only by removing the sourcc (cigarette smoking). Separating smokers and nrsn- smok,;rs in the same room may reduce, but will not eliminate, nonsmokers' exposure to tobacco smoke. Placing smokers and non-smokers in separatc rotyms that are on the same ventilation system also may reduce nonsmokers' exposure to tobacco smoke; this approach, -however, will probably not eliminate exposure to tobacco smoke since most pollutants readily dispersc through a common air space and since, in public or cornmercial buildings, most HVAC systems recirculate much of the contaminatcd indnor ai r. In 1981, the American Society of Ilcating, Refri-- gerating; and Air-C'onditioning l?ngincers (ASHRAE), in its standard 'Ventilation for Accept- able fndoor Air Quality' recommended fivee cubic feet of outside air per minute per occupant (cfm/occ) in smoke-free office buildings and 20 cfm/ot:c in buildings where smoking is permitted. These recommendations were not designed to reduce health risks (for example, limiting cancer incidence or eye irritation); rather, the recommendations were intended to contr6l the odor from tobacco smoke so that 80 percent of visitors (smokers and nonsmokcr; combined) to the building find it acceptable. A proposed revision of this standard recommends a minimum of 15 +efm/oct: in all buildings. Research indicates that total removal of tobacco smoke through ventilation is both tcc:hnically and economically impractical. 1'he effectiveness of air filters for removing I?'IS particles from the indoor air is generally dependent on the type and tfficicncy of the air cleaner used; the efi'ectiveness of air cleaners in rcrnoving the gaseous components of 2

T.J 1, L- 1 1-'9 ~-3 i•J E D 17 : 10 ) C- & E L3 i1 S H D C tobacco smoke and other air pollutants requires further research. Since there is no established, health-based thres- hold for exposure to environmental tobacco smoke and since EPA generally does not recognize a no- effect or saFe level for cancer causing agents, the Agency recotOmends that exposure to environmental tobacco smoke be minimized wherever possible. The most effective way to minimize exposure is to restrict smoking to smoking areas that are separately ventilated and directly exhausted to the outside, or by eliminating smoking in the building entirely. The Public Reaction To ETS People are becoming increasingly sensitized to the issue of ETS, Numerous surveys have documented that the majority of both smokers and nonsmokers support restrictiQns on smoking in public, particular- ly in the workplace. In a 1987 Gallup National Opinion Survey, 55 percent of all persons inter- viewed (including smokers and nortsmokers) were in favor of a total ban on all smoking in public places. As a result, thousands of businesses and hundreds of cities, as well as ovcr 40 states and the District of Columbia restrict smoking in various settings. The number continues to grow ra.pidly. Conclusion EPA shares the recommendations of the 1986 Sur-- geon General's Report; o Adults should protect the health of children by not exposing them to environmental tobacco smoke, o Employers and employees should ensure that the act of smoking does not expose nonsmokers to environmental tobacco smoke by restricting smoking to separately ventilated areas or banning smoking from buildings. o Smokers should ensure that their behavior docs not jeopardize the health of others. o Nonsmokers should support smokers who are trying to quit. For More Information For additional information on environmental tobacco smoke, contact your state or local health dcpart- ments, nonprofit agencies such as your local Lung F _ 1 ; Association, Cancer Society or Heart Association, or the following: Office on Smoking and Health U.S. Public Health Service 5600 Fishers Lane, Room 1-10 Rckkvillc, MD 20857 Public Relations Cf f ice American Society of Fleating Re(rigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) 1791 Tullic Circle, NE. Atlanta, GA 30329 Office of Cancer Communications National Cancer Institute 1-$t3t3-4-CANCER Smoking Policy Institute 914 Fast Jefferson Suite 219 P.O. Box 20271 Seattle, WA 98102 Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights 2054 tUniversity Avenue Suite 500 Berkeley, CA 94704 Action on Smoking and liealth 2013 11 Street, Nw, wash ingtan, DC 20006 Cigarette smoke is only ane of many indoor air pollutants that can affect your health and cc3rnfort. Other EPA publications concerning the quality of indoor air include: o The Inside Story: A Guide to Indoor Air Quality 0 Directory of State Indoor Air Contacts o Indoor Air Fr;cts 0 1: EPA and Indoor rllr Quality o Indoor Air Facts ;0Z: EPA Indoor Air Qudtity Impternentution Plan o Indoor Air Facts r3: Ventilation and Air Quality In Offices o Indoor Air Facts #d: Sick Buildings These publications, as well as additional copies of this fact sheet, are available from: Public Information Center U.S. Env ironmenta! Protection Agency Mail Code PIvC-2118 401 M Street, SW. Washington, DC 20460 3