Nicotine in hair of bar and restaurant workers

Aim. To measure the relation between workplace smoking policies and exposur es to Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS) of workers in bars and restaurants. Methods. 114 workers: in Wellington and Auckland were questioned about sour ces of exposure to ETS and smoking habits, and details of the smoke-free po licy in their work place were recorded. A hair sample was collected from ea ch participant and tested for nicotine. Results. Among non-smoking workers, hair nicotine levels varied strongly ac cording to the smoke free policy at their place of work (Kruskall-Wallis, c hi (2)=26.38, p<0.0001). Those working in 100% smoke free restaurants had m uch lower levels than staff working in bars with no restrictions on smoking , and levels were intermediate for staff working in places with a partial s moking ban. These findings were not changed when adjustments were made for other sources of ETS exposure. Hair nicotine levels among non-smokers worki ng in places with no restriction on smoking were similar to hair nicotine l evels of active smokers. Conclusion. The present New Zealand Smoke Free Environment Act does not pro tect workers in the hospitality industry from exposure to ETS. The-findings from this study highlight the substantial levels of exposure of bar and re staurant staff from patrons' smoking.