Smoking ban improves health of bar workers

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The health of Scottish bar workers has improved since legislation was passed early this year prohibiting smoking in confined public places, according to a new report.

The report indicates that bar workers experienced significant improvements in respiratory symptoms, lung function, and inflammation from February through June 2006. The smoking ban was implemented on March 26.

The study, which was conducted in Tayside, Scotland, involved 105 bar workers, of whom 77 completed the study. Although none of the subjects were current smokers, 29 had smoked in the past and 17 were currently living with a smoker. Eleven of the workers had asthma.

Before the smoking ban was enacted, 61 (79.2 percent) of the workers had respiratory and sensory symptoms, lead author Dr. Daniel Menzies, from the Ninewells Hospital and Medical School in Dundee, Scotland, and colleagues note.

One month after the policy was in place, the number of affected subjects fell to 41 (53.2 percent) and at 2 months the number dropped further to 38 (46.8 percent).

A significant improvement in lung function and a lessening of airway inflammation was also noted with the smoking ban.

The smoking ban was also associated with a significant improvement in asthma quality of life scores, the report indicates.

As the beneficial clinical effects were occurring, there were noteworthy drops in levels of cotinine in blood -- a marker of nicotine exposure.

"The comprehensive body of research documenting the serious adverse health effects of passive smoking provides a powerful rationale for prohibiting smoking in all public places," Dr. Mark D. Eisner, from the University of California, San Francisco, comments in a related editorial.

"The time has come to clear the air," Eisner says.

SOURCE: Journal of the American Medical Association, October 11, 2006.