|
Clean Air Standards for Workplaces and Public Places Ordinance
<br /> Page 4-Substitute Bill No. 24-12
<br /> of exposure to secondhand smoke at outdoor bars and family restaurants in Athens, Georgia, using salivary
<br /> cotinine,"Journal of Occupational and Environmental hygiene 6(11): 698-704, November 2009)
<br /> Residual tobacco contamination, or "thirdhand smoke," from cigarettes, cigars, and other
<br /> tobacco products is left behind after smoking occurs and builds up on surfaces and furnishings. This
<br /> residue can linger in spaces long after smoking has ceased and continue to expose people to tobacco
<br /> toxins. Sticky, highly toxic particulate matter, including nicotine, can cling to walls and ceilings. Gases
<br /> can be absorbed into carpets, draperies, and other upholsteries, and then be reemitted (off-gassed) back
<br /> into the air and recombine to form harmful compounds. (Singer, B.C.; Hodgson, A.T.; Nazaroff, W.W.,
<br /> "Effect of sorption on exposures to organic gases from environmental tobacco smoke (ETS)," Proceedings:
<br /> Indoor Air 2002, 2002)
<br /> Tobacco residue is noticeably present in dust throughout places where smoking has occurred.
<br /> (Matt, G.E.; Quintana, P.J.E.; Hovell, M.F.; Bernert, J.T.; Song, S.; Novianti, N.; Juarez, T.; Floro, J.; Gehrman,
<br /> C.; Garcia, M.; Larson, S., "Households contaminated by environmental tobacco smoke: sources of infant
<br /> exposures," Tobacco Control 13(1): 29-37, March 2004)
<br /> Given the rapid absorption and persistence of high levels of residual nicotine from tobacco
<br /> smoke on indoor surfaces, including clothing and human skin, this recently identified process
<br /> represents an unappreciated health hazard through dermal exposure, dust inhalation, and ingestion.
<br /> (Sleiman, M.; Gundel, L.A.; Pankow, J.F.; Jacob III, P.; Singer, B.C.; Destaillats, H., "Formation of carcinogens
<br /> indoors by surface-mediated reactions of nicotine with nitrous acid, leading to potential thirdhand smoke
<br /> hazards," Proceedings of the National Academy of'Sciences of the United Sates of America (PNAS) 107(15):
<br /> 6576-6581, February 8, 2010)
<br /> UnreguIatedd high-tech smoking devices, commonly referred to as electronic cigarettes, or "e-
<br /> cigarettes, "closely resemble and purposefully mimic the act of smoking by having users inhale
<br /> vaporized liquid nicotine created by heat through an electronic ignition system. After testing a number
<br /> of e-cigarettes from two leading manufacturers, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) determined
<br /> that various samples tested contained not only nicotine but also detectable levels of known carcinogens
<br /> and toxic chemicals, including tobacco-specific nitrosamines and diethylene glycol, a toxic chemical
<br /> used in antifreeze. The FDA's testing also suggested "quality control processes used to manufacture
<br /> these products are inconsistent or non-existent." {[n.a.], "Summary of results: laboratory analysis of
<br /> electronic._ cigarettes conducted by FDA," Food and Drug Administration (FDA), July 22, 2009;
<br /> htt ://www.fda. ov/NewsEvents/PublicHealthFocus/ucml73146.htm
<br /> Accessed on: October 22, 2009)
<br /> E-cigarettes produce a vapor of undetermined and potentially harmful substances, which may
<br /> appear similar to the smoke emitted by traditional tobacco products. Their use in workplaces and
<br /> public places where smoking of traditional tobacco products is prohibited creates concern and
<br /> confusion and leads to difficulties in enforcing the smoking prohibitions.
<br /> The Society of Actuaries has determined that secondhand smoke costs the U.S. economy
<br /> roughly $10 billion a year: $5 billion in estimated medical costs associated with secondhand smoke
<br /> exposure and $4.6 billion in lost productivity. (Behan, D.F.; Eriksen, M.P.; Lin, Y., "Economic Effects of
<br /> Environmental Tobacco Smoke,"Society ofActuaries, March 31,2005.)
<br />
|