The Cancer Council NSW supports outdoor smoking bans at public locations where people tend to congregate in close proximity.
Studies in Australia and overseas have shown that exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) increases the risk of lung cancer and heart disease, as well sore throats, nasal symptoms, asthma, chest infections and eye irritation. In children, it increases the risk of middle ear infections, croup, bronchitis and asthma.1, 2, 3
While the risks of contracting these health conditions is greater from exposure to ETS in enclosed spaces, there is now emerging evidence that ETS exposure in particular outdoor settings may pose health risks. This evidence comprises the measurement of airborne tobacco smoke and includes the following studies:
- The California Environmental Protection Agency Air Resources Board measured air concentration of nicotine adjacent to outdoor smoking areas in five locations – an airport, a college campus, a public building, and an amusement park. The study showed that even in areas that are completely outdoors, it is possible to experience substantial exposure to ETS.4
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In the first study of outdoor ETS exposure to be published in a peer-reviewed journal it was found that a person sitting or standing next to a smoker in an outdoor setting can inhale smoke that is many times more concentrated than background air pollution level. The researchers concluded that these levels could reach the equivalent of those inside a tavern where smokers are present. Electronic monitors were used to measure airborne particles emitted from cigarettes at a number of settings including open-air cafes, outdoor pubs and footpaths. 5
- A study of airborne tobacco smoke in the indoor and outdoor areas of a cruise ship underway at sea found that outdoor smoking areas were contaminated with ETS to nearly the same extent as a popular smoking-permitted casino on the ship.6
- In the city of Copenhagen in Denmark, a study found that measured ETS reached significant levels outdoors in different parts of the city where smokers gathered to smoke.7
On the basis of the emerging health evidence, The Cancer Council supports bans on smoking at the following outdoor settings:
- Al fresco dining venues
- Sporting stadia and grounds
- Children's playgrounds
- Outdoor entertainment areas and venues
- Within 7 metres of building entrances
- Crowded beach locations
- Transport waiting areas (e.g. taxi stands, railway platforms, bus stops)
- Outdoor market areas
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- National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), The Health Effects of Passive Smoking—A Scientific Information Paper . Commonwealth of Australia. Canberra, November 1997.
- California Environmental Protection Agency Air Resources Board. Proposed Identification of Environmental Tobacco Smoke as a Toxic Air Contaminant . Sacramento, 2005. ( http://www.arb.ca.gov/toxics/ets/finalreport/finalreport.htm - accessed 20 March 2007)
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke: A Report of the Surgeon General . Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Coordinating Center for Health Promotion, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, 2006. ( http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/secondhandsmoke/ - accessed 20 March 2007)
- California Environmental Protection Agency Air Resources Board. Op cit.
- Klepeis N E , Ott WR, Switzer P. Real-Time Measurement of Outdoor Tobacco Smoke Particles. Journal of the Air and Waste management Association. 57 : 522-534. May 2007.
- Repace JL. Indoor and Outdoor Carcinogen Pollution on a Cruise Ship in the Presence and Absence of Tobacco Smoking. Research presented at the 14 th Annual Conference of the International Society of Exposure Analysis, Oct. 17-21, Philadelphia, PA.
- Boffi R, Ruprecht A, Mazza R, Ketzel M Invernizzi G.. A day at the European Respiratory Society Congress: passive smoking influences both outdoor and indoor air quality (letter). European Respiratory Journal. 2006; 27: 862-863.
