Acute sensory responses of nonsmokers at very low environmental tobacco smoke concentrations in controlled laboratory settings

The objective of this study was to provide a basis for effectively protecti ng nonsmokers from acute sensory impacts and for preventing deterioration o f indoor air quality caused by environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) emissions. With an olfactory experiment we determined odor detection thresholds (OT) of sidestream ETS (sETS), and with a full-body exposure experiment we inves tigated sensory symptoms at very low sETS exposure concentrations. OT conce ntrations for sETS are three and more orders of magnitude lower than ETS co ncentrations measured in field settings and correspond to a fresh air dilut ion volume of > 19,000 m(3) per cigarette, over 100 times more than had pre viously been suggested for acceptable indoor air conditions. Eye and nasal irritations were observed at one order of magnitude lower sETS concentratio ns than previously reported, corresponding to a fresh air dilution volume o f > 3,000 m(3) per cigarette. These findings have great practical implicati ons for defining indoor air quality standards in indoor compartments where ETS emissions occur. Our study strongly supports the implementation and con trol of smoking policies such as segregating smoking areas from areas where smoking is not permitted or instituting smoking bans in public buildings.