Passive smokers in London pubs consume the equivalent of one cigarette every three hours

Main Category: Smoking / Quit Smoking
Article Date: 11 May 2004 - 0:00 PDT

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A recent investigation found that some drinkers in London pubs absorbed nicotine and other dangerous chemicals equivalent to smoking one cigarette every three hours.

Over the course of a year, the laboratory results from our sample mean the average non-smoking Londoner going out twice a week is smoking the equivalent of 100 cigarettes each year.

The tests were carried out in four typical London venues - a local pub, a cocktail bar, a gastropub and a cigar bar. Reporters provided urine samples before and after they visited the venues.

The samples were then sent for laboratory analysis.

Experts warned the levels of nicotine encountered in two of our samples could lead to permanent damage to the arteries of non-smokers. They claim the risk to non-smokers of going to pubs and restaurants where smoking is allowed is " significant".

European Respiratory Society:
http://www.ersnet.org/ers/default.aspx?id_fiche=75497

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