title: Passive smoking at work: biochemical and biological measures of exposure to environmental tobacco smoke.
abstract: Several biochemical and biological measures of tobacco smoke intake were used to evaluate exposure of restaurant personnel to environmental tobacco smoke as compared with active smokers and non-exposed non-smokers. All of the measured parameters--carboxyhaemoglobin (COHb), thiocyanate (SCN) and cotinine in plasma, cotinine and mutagenicity in urine, total white blood cell count (WBC), and sister chromatid exchange (SCE) frequency in cultured lymphocytes--were significantly elevated in the smoker group (n = 22) compared to the non-exposed group (n = 20). Work-related passive exposure (n = 27) was seen most clearly in the cotinine values, both from plasma (mean P-cot in passive smokers 10 ng/ml vs 5.2 ng/ml in non-exposed) and from urine (mean U-cot in passive smokers 56 ng/ml vs 8.3 ng/ml in non-exposed), but significant increases were also seen in the thiocyanate levels (mean P-SNC in passive smokers 58 mumol/l vs 46 mumol/l in non-exposed) and, as a preliminary finding, in total leucocyte count (in passive smokers 8.0 X 10(9)/l vs 6.8 X 10(9)/l in non-exposed). The results demonstrate that environmental tobacco smoke may be an occupational health hazard.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002263:Carboxyhemoglobin / Q000097:blood; D003367:Cotinine / Q000097:blood / Q000652:urine; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000648:ultrastructure; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009153:Mutagens / Q000032:analysis; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000209:etiology*; D012147:Restaurants; D012854:Sister Chromatid Exchange; D013861:Thiocyanates / Q000097:blood; D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution / Q000009:adverse effects*
chemical_list: D009153:Mutagens; D013861:Thiocyanates; D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution; D002263:Carboxyhemoglobin; D003367:Cotinine; C031760:thiocyanate