Passive smoking, is also at risk of cancer

According to research by US scientists, just exposure to cigarette smoke for 1 hour working in restaurants, restaurants . is enough to cause carcinogens to increase 6% in non-smokers.

Dr. Michael Stark, of Multnomah County Health Department, Oregon, USA, and colleagues conducted a study on passive smoking in eating places, to provide more evidence for the harmful effects of exposure to smoke in the workplace.

In this study, experts surveyed urine samples of 84 non-smoking employees working at restaurants, bars ., of which 52 people worked in smoke-free environments and 32 workers work in places where smoking is prohibited.

Cigarette smoke contains more than 4,000 chemicals, including at least 69 substances identified as potentially carcinogenic.(Photo: z.about.com)

All of these employees provided urine samples at least 4 hours before and after each shift. Test results show that there is NNK in urine of people exposed to cigarette smoke. NNK is a carcinogen associated with lung cancer.

In an interview, Dr. Stark said: 'About 80% of non-smoking employees who work in smoke-eating places have urine NNK, while in non-smokers working in In places where smoking is prohibited, this rate is not more than 50%. '

Moreover, the increase in the rates of non-smokers in people who are non-smokers is directly related to the number of working hours in smoke-contaminated environments. On average, every hour of work in such places, the concentration of NNK in non-smokers increased by 6%!

Dr. Stark stressed: 'NNK is a carcinogenic agent in tobacco products and workers should not be exposed to this level to any degree. Science has proven that the risk of passive smoking is no longer a distant affair. This study has shown that NNK has increased only after one shift. '

According to him, 'this is the first study to show an increase in NNK in the body as a result of exposure to cigarette smoke in a short time at work, and an increase in this carcinogen. will continue to increase in people who work in smoke-free environments. '

The team said smoke concentrations in restaurants and bars . are 2 to 5 times higher than those in smokers' homes. Of the 84 participants in the study, the majority were female employees under 30, with relatively low incomes, and about one-third without health insurance.

Cigarette smoke exhaled by smokers contains more than 4,000 chemicals, of which at least 69 have been identified as potentially carcinogenic.In adults, exposure to cigarette smoke causes lung cancer, heart disease, serious respiratory diseases, etc. In infants and children, secondhand smoke increases risks such as: sudden death syndrome, low birth weight, respiratory infection, ear infection, asthma, etc.

Dr. Stark said: 'Compared to many other groups, these people have fewer conditions to deal with health problems. For young women, passive smoking can increase the risk of breast cancer, premature birth or low birth weight. Other studies have shown that the risk of lung cancer increases by 20% in non-smokers who must work in smoke-filled environments. And food service employees are often exposed to more smoke than workers in any other occupation.

Stark said: 'This study adds to the solid and growing evidence of the danger of passive smoking - a situation that people should avoid . '

According to the American Lung Association, passive smoking causes about 3,400 people to die from lung cancer and 46,000 to death from heart disease in non-smokers in the country.

According to Stark, only 11 US states currently have a smoking ban in all workplaces. In states like Oregon, workplaces such as restaurants and bars are exempt from the ban. The team confirmed that there is no basis to justify such an exemption. Stark said: 'Legislators and the public need to protect non-smokers by banning smoking in all workplaces'.

This study will be published in the August 2007 issue of American Journal of Public Health (American Public Health Journal).

'Lawmakers and the public need to protect non-smokers by banning smoking in all workplaces'. (Ahnh: msnbcmedia.msn.com)

Quang Thinh

According to Reuters, Science Daily, Medical News Today, VNN