Ahmad Al Mulla1, Nadia Fanous1, Andrew B Seidenberg2, Vaughan W Rees2. 1. Tobacco Control Unit, Medicine Department, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar. 2. Department of Social & Behavioral Sciences, Center for Global Tobacco Control, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, USA.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Exposure to the emissions of a tobacco waterpipe is associated with increased health risks among its users as well as those exposed to its secondhand smoke. Waterpipe use is an emerging concern to the tobacco control community, particularly among countries of the Eastern Mediterranean Region. In 2002, Qatar adopted legislation that prohibited cigarette smoking inside public venues, but exempted tobacco waterpipe smoking. To inform the development and enforcement of effective policy, the impact of cigarette and waterpipe use on indoor air quality was monitored in waterpipe cafes in Doha, Qatar. METHODS: Particulate matter (PM2.5) levels were measured inside and outside of a sample of 40 waterpipe cafes and 16 smoke-free venues in Doha, Qatar between July and October 2012. In addition, the number of waterpipes being smoked and the number of cigarette smokers were counted within each venue. Non-paired and paired sample t tests were used to assess differences in mean PM2.5 measurements between venue type (waterpipe vs smoke-free) and environment (indoor vs outdoor). RESULTS: The mean PM2.5 level inside waterpipe venues (476 μg/m(3)) was significantly higher than the mean PM2.5 level inside smoke-free venues (17 μg/m(3); p<0.001), and significantly higher than the mean PM2.5 level found immediately outside waterpipe venues (35 μg/m(3); p<0.001). In smoke-free venues, the outside mean PM2.5 level (30 μg/m(3)) did not differ significantly from the mean PM2.5 inside levels inside these venues (p=0.121). CONCLUSIONS: Elevated levels of particulate pollution were found in waterpipe cafes in Doha, Qatar, potentially endangering the health of employees and patrons. To protect the public from the dangers of secondhand tobacco smoke, and to change social norms around tobacco use, smoke-free policies that apply to all forms of combusted tobacco products, including the waterpipe, are needed. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.
BACKGROUND: Exposure to the emissions of a tobacco waterpipe is associated with increased health risks among its users as well as those exposed to its secondhand smoke. Waterpipe use is an emerging concern to the tobacco control community, particularly among countries of the Eastern Mediterranean Region. In 2002, Qatar adopted legislation that prohibited cigarette smoking inside public venues, but exempted tobacco waterpipe smoking. To inform the development and enforcement of effective policy, the impact of cigarette and waterpipe use on indoor air quality was monitored in waterpipe cafes in Doha, Qatar. METHODS: Particulate matter (PM2.5) levels were measured inside and outside of a sample of 40 waterpipe cafes and 16 smoke-free venues in Doha, Qatar between July and October 2012. In addition, the number of waterpipes being smoked and the number of cigarette smokers were counted within each venue. Non-paired and paired sample t tests were used to assess differences in mean PM2.5 measurements between venue type (waterpipe vs smoke-free) and environment (indoor vs outdoor). RESULTS: The mean PM2.5 level inside waterpipe venues (476 μg/m(3)) was significantly higher than the mean PM2.5 level inside smoke-free venues (17 μg/m(3); p<0.001), and significantly higher than the mean PM2.5 level found immediately outside waterpipe venues (35 μg/m(3); p<0.001). In smoke-free venues, the outside mean PM2.5 level (30 μg/m(3)) did not differ significantly from the mean PM2.5 inside levels inside these venues (p=0.121). CONCLUSIONS: Elevated levels of particulate pollution were found in waterpipe cafes in Doha, Qatar, potentially endangering the health of employees and patrons. To protect the public from the dangers of secondhand tobacco smoke, and to change social norms around tobacco use, smoke-free policies that apply to all forms of combusted tobacco products, including the waterpipe, are needed. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.
Entities:
Keywords:
Denormalization; Public policy; Secondhand smoke
Authors: Katherine A Moon; Hoda Magid; Christine Torrey; Ana M Rule; Jacqueline Ferguson; Jolie Susan; Zhuolu Sun; Salahaddin Abubaker; Vladimir Levshin; Aslı Çarkoğlu; Ghada Nasr Radwan; Maha El-Rabbat; Joanna Cohen; Paul Strickland; Ana Navas-Acien; Patrick N Breysse Journal: Environ Res Date: 2015-10 Impact factor: 6.498
Authors: Aruni Bhatnagar; Wasim Maziak; Thomas Eissenberg; Kenneth D Ward; George Thurston; Brian A King; Erin L Sutfin; Caroline O Cobb; Merlyn Griffiths; Larry B Goldstein; Mary Rezk-Hanna Journal: Circulation Date: 2019-05-07 Impact factor: 29.690
Authors: Katherine A Moon; Ana M Rule; Hoda S Magid; Jacqueline M Ferguson; Jolie Susan; Zhuolu Sun; Christine Torrey; Salahaddin Abubaker; Vladimir Levshin; Asli Çarkoglu; Ghada Nasr Radwan; Maha El-Rabbat; Joanna E Cohen; Paul Strickland; Patrick N Breysse; Ana Navas-Acien Journal: Nicotine Tob Res Date: 2018-03-06 Impact factor: 4.244
Authors: Bekir Kaplan; Thomas Sussan; Ana Rule; Katherine Moon; Maria Grau-Perez; Pablo Olmedo; Rui Chen; Asli Carkoglu; Vladimir Levshin; Lanqing Wang; Clifford Watson; Benjamin Blount; Antonia M Calafat; Jeffery Jarrett; Kathleen Caldwell; Yuesong Wang; Pattrick Breysse; Paul Strickland; Joanna Cohen; Shyam Biswal; Ana Navas-Acien Journal: Environ Int Date: 2019-04-10 Impact factor: 9.621