Workers in the catering industry are at greater risk of exposureto secondhand smoke (SHS) when smoke-free workplace policiesare not in force.We determined the exposure of catering workers toSHS in Hong Kong and their risk of death from heart disease andlung cancer. Nonsmoking catering workers were provided withscreening at their workplaces and at a central clinic. Participantsreported workplace, home, and leisure time exposure to SHS.Urinary cotinine was estimated by enzyme immunoassay. Cateringfacilities were classified into three types: nonsmoking, partiallyrestricted smoking (with nonsmoking areas), and unrestrictedsmoking. Mean urinary cotinine levels ranged from 3.3 ng/ml ina control group of 16 university staff through 6.4 ng/ml (nonsmoking),6.1 ng/ml (partially restricted), and 15.9 ng/ml (unrestrictedsmoking) in 104 workers who had no exposures outsideof work. Workers in nonsmoking facilities had exposures to othersmoking staff. We modeled workers’ mortality risks using averagecotinine levels, estimates of workplace respirable particulates, riskdata for cancer and heart disease from cohort studies, and national(US) and regional (Hong Kong) mortality for heart disease andlung cancer. We estimated that deaths in the Hong Kong cateringworkforce of 200,000 occur at the rate of 150 per year for a 40-yearworking-lifetime exposure to SHS. When compared with thecurrent outdoor air quality standards for particulates in HongKong, 30% of workers exceeded the 24-h and 98% exceeded theannual air quality objectives due to workplace SHS exposures.Key Words: secondhand smoke; passive smoking; urinarycotinine; heart disease; lung cancer; catering workers; Hong Kong.
Download PDF : Toxicol. Sci.-2006-Hedley-539-48