Increase in saliva cotinine after three hours' exposure to second-hand smoke in bars.
OBJECTIVE
To determine whether measurement of cotinine in saliva is a sensitive measure of exposure to second-hand smoke (SHS) among customers in bars.


METHODS
Before/after comparison of saliva cotinine and subjective assessments of SHS.


METHODS
Three bars in Wellington, New Zealand, June 2003.


METHODS
Eleven non-smoking medical students spent three hours in each location. They provided saliva samples before and after the visit, counted numbers of lit cigarettes in each bar, and assessed the smokiness of the venue. Samples were tested for cotinine using liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry.


RESULTS
Cotinine levels post-visit were consistently higher than baseline. The mean difference was 1.03 ng/mL with a 95% confidence interval of 0.76-1.30 ng/ mL. Adjustments to post-visit levels for metabolism and clearance of cotinine made very little difference to these results. Males tended to have higher baseline levels than females, and to show smaller increases. The bar with the greatest increase in cotinine was judged to be the smokiest on the basis of averaged cigarette counts and scores for presence of smoke and odour.


CONCLUSIONS
The cotinine in saliva, when tested with the analytic methods described here, provides a means of assessing relatively short-term exposures to SHS.
Woodward
Alistair
A
School of Population Health, University of Auckland, New Zealand. a.woodward@auckland.ac.nz
Fowles
Jeff
J
Dickson
Stuart
S
Fernando
Dinusha
D
Berezowski
Richard
R
Reid
Papaarangi
P
D000328:Adult; D002853:Chromatography, Liquid; D003367:Cotinine / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D012463:Saliva / Q000737:chemistry*; D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution
D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution; D003367:Cotinine