Smoke and Wind

Pass by any major urban office building, these days, and you're likely to see at least a few souls commiserating outside the entrance about their forced eviction from smokefree offices whenever they feel an urge to light up. However, such nicotine addicts may find their lives constrained even more, if regulators get wind of new research published this month in the Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association.

Stanford University scientists wondered whether exiling smokers to the outdoor environment actually contributed substantially to pollution there. So, they set up continuous particle sensors to tally the tiny smoke particles in areas frequented by cigarette and cigar smokers--these were typically parks, outdoor cafes, sidewalks, and restaurant patios.

The bottom line: Sitting or standing downwind of a smoker could fill your breathing space with substantial amounts of smoke. How much? Within 1.5 feet of smokers, one could encounter upwards of 1,000 micrograms per cubic meter in air of fine particles. These are the type that can be inhaled deeply into lungs.

Admittedly, that was a maximum value. More typical ones were 200 to 500 micrograms per cubic meter of air. Still, Neil E. Klepeis and his colleagues report, concentrations at 1.5 feet downwind of an outdoor smoker were comparable to indoor concentrations found in smokers' homes. The big difference: Once an outdoor smoker puts out his or her cigarette, nearby air concentrations plummet to virtually zero. In homes, however, air isn't diluted as effectively as outdoors, so smoke remains aloft within rooms for hours after stubbing out a cigarette.

This is the first peer-reviewed data on systematic measurements of outdoor tobacco smoke. The study's authors conclude: "these data--that outdoor tobacco smoke levels can be substantial under certain conditions--[are] vital to the development of outdoor tobacco-control policy."

Of course, they're only telling us nonsmokers what we have been observing anecdotally: that outdoor air all too often fails to effectively dilute tobacco pollution. I'd say these data should begin discussions about whether even outdoor cafes need to consider offering us--especially patrons with small children--access to truly smokefree zones.