DIETARY-INTAKE AND EXPOSURE TO ENVIRONMENTAL TOBACCO-SMOKE IN A WORKSITE POPULATION

Objectives: Nonsmokers who live with smokers have poorer dietary habit s than those who live in nonsmoking households. This relationship may be due to shared lifestyle patterns by spouses and family members. How ever, in order to fully understand the nature of this relationship, it is also important to examine the association between diet and exposur e to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) at the workplace. Further, blue collar workers' patterns of exposure to ETS both at work and at home have not been studied. The goal of this study is to examine the dietar y intake of manufacturing workers as it relates to exposure to ETS at work and at home. Methods: The Working Well Trial surveyed 10 833 nons mokers about a variety of health behaviors, including smoking, dietary behaviors, and ETS exposure. Results. Nonsmokers who had ETS exposure in their household had significantly lower intake of all target micro nutrients, compared to those without household exposure. Exposure to E TS at the workplace was associated with lower intakes of vitamin C and fruits and vegetables, but not the other micronutrients examined. Con clusions: Exposure to ETS was associated with poorer dietary habits. H ousehold exposure was a stronger predictor of intake than was workplac e exposure. Because of the antagonistic effects of many components of a healthful diet in relation to the harmful effects of tobacco smoke, these findings have relevance larger than either ETS exposure or diet considered singly.