Exposure to environmental tobacco smoke in the workplace in Macedonia: where are we now?
To assess the prevalence and the level of exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) in the workplace after the enactment of the law restricting indoor smoking in Macedonia, we performed a cross-sectional, self-administered questionnaire study including 372 never-smoking workers recruited from six workplaces. We found a high prevalence of workers exposed to ETS in the workplace (27.4 %) with no significant difference between particular occupation groups. We found no significant difference in the prevalence of passive smokers in the workplace between this study and our study conducted before the law was enacted (31.5 % vs. 27.4 %, P=0.324). The prevalence of workers exposed to ETS for less than three hours a day was significantly lower than of passive smokers with longer exposure (28.4 % vs. 71.6 %, P=0.038). The prevalence of workers exposed to ETS from less than 10 cigarettes smoked by coworkers per day was lower than the prevalence of workers with higher exposure, but statistical significance was not reached (37.9 % vs. 62.1 %, P=0.087). Our findings indicate a high prevalence and a high level of exposure to ETS in the workplace, which calls for stricter adherence to smoking-free legislation or even the total ban of smoking in the workplace.
Institute of Occupational Health - WHO Collaborating Center for Occupational Health and GA2LEN Collaborating Center, Skopje, Macedonia. minovj@hotmail.com
Jordan
J
Minov
Jovanka
J
Karadzinska-Bislimovska
Kristin
K
Vasilevska
Snezana
S
Risteska-Kuc
Saso
S
Stoleski
D000328:Adult; D016902:Air Pollution, Indoor / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018843:Republic of North Macedonia; D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017132:Workplace
D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution