1. Measuring tobacco smoke exposure among smoking and nonsmoking bar and restaurant workers.
- Author
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Okoli CT, Hall LA, Rayens MK, and Hahn EJ
- Subjects
- Adult, Analysis of Variance, Biomarkers analysis, Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid methods, Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid standards, Clinical Nursing Research, Cross-Sectional Studies, Electrochemistry methods, Electrochemistry standards, Environmental Monitoring standards, Female, Humans, Inhalation Exposure analysis, Inhalation Exposure prevention & control, Kentucky, Linear Models, Male, Occupational Exposure prevention & control, Smoking adverse effects, Smoking metabolism, Smoking Prevention, Statistics, Nonparametric, Surveys and Questionnaires, Tobacco Smoke Pollution prevention & control, West Virginia, Environmental Monitoring methods, Hair chemistry, Nicotine analysis, Occupational Exposure analysis, Restaurants, Tobacco Smoke Pollution analysis
- Abstract
Purpose: This study assesses the validity of hair nicotine as a biomarker for secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure. Although most biomarkers of tobacco-smoke exposure have a relatively short half-life, hair nicotine can measure several months of cumulative SHS exposure., Design: A cross-sectional study of hospitality-industry workers., Method: Hair samples were obtained from 207 bar and restaurant workers and analyzed by the reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection (HPLC-ECD) method. Self-reported tobacco use and sources of SHS exposure were assessed., Findings: Higher hair-nicotine levels were associated with more cigarettes smoked per day among smokers and a greater number of SHS-exposure sources among nonsmokers. Number of SHS exposure sources, gender, number of cigarettes smoked per day, and type of establishment predicted hair-nicotine levels., Discussion: Hair nicotine is a valid measure of SHS exposure. It may be used as an alternative biomarker to measure longer term SHS exposure.
- Published
- 2007
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