title: Effectiveness of a smoke-free policy in lowering secondhand smoke concentrations in offices in China.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure level in Chinese office buildings and to evaluate the effectiveness of a smoke-free policy in reducing SHS exposure.
  
  
  METHODS
  Survey of smoking policies and measurement of SHS level in 14 office buildings from 10 provinces in China.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Smoking in the building significantly elevated the SHS concentrations both in offices with at least one smoker and in offices with no smokers. In one building that recently adopted a smoke-free policy, the nicotine concentrations decreased significantly after the policy was enacted. Enactment of a smoking policy was effective in reducing SHS exposure in the buildings.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Nonsmoking office workers in China were exposed to significant levels of SHS at work; both the central and local governments should realize the need to legislate against workplace smoking.
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, California 94143-1390, USA. quan.gan@ucsf.edu
authors.forename: Quan
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Gan
authors.forename: S Katharine
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Hammond
authors.forename: Yuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Teh-Wei
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Hu
mesh_terms: D000395:Air Pollutants, Occupational / Q000032:analysis*; D002681:China; D006076:Government; D006291:Health Policy; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D009538:Nicotine / Q000032:analysis*; D016540:Smoking Cessation; D000074606:Smoking Prevention; D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution / Q000032:analysis*; D017132:Workplace
chemical_list: D000395:Air Pollutants, Occupational; D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution; D009538:Nicotine