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A new study shows that secondhand tobacco smoke to which nonsmoking restaurant and bar workers were exposed markedly raised their levels of the carcinogen NKK, even after a single work shift. The NKK levels increased by 6% for each hour of work in the smoky bar or restaurant.
NKK in Smoking-Allowed Places
The research was conducted by the Oregon Department of Human Services and the Multnomah County Health Department in Portland, Oregon. Fifty-two employees of restaurants or bars where smoking is still permitted and 32 employees at establishments where smoking is prohibited by local ordinance were studied. All were nonsmokers; most were young women. Each subject gave a urine sample before the work shift, which was at least four hours long. A second urine sample was taken after the work shift.
The results revealed that about 80% of the nonsmokers who worked in a smoking environment had a detectable level of the toxin NKK after their shift, and for each hour worked, the NKK level was higher by an average of 6%. Michael Stark, the study's principal author, stated "NNK is only found in the body as a result of either smoking or breathing other people's smoke."
The study will be published in the August 2007 issue of the American Journal of Public Health.
The Trend toward Smoking Bans
Twenty-two states, Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico have passed smoke-free laws that cover restaurants and bars. The U.S. Surgeon General has reported that secondhand smoke causes heart disease, lung cancer, and serious respiratory illnesses among adults; in children and infants, secondhand smoke is linked to low birth weight, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), ear infections, respiratory infections, and asthma. It has been established that secondhand tobacco smoke has more than 4,000 chemicals, including at least 69 chemicals that are known to cause cancer.
(Source: www.medicalnewstoday.com, Scientific American)
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