Smoking in cars
As part of work from the Scottish Centre for Indoor Air scientists at the IOM have been involved in a project to measure levels of Second-hand tobacco smoke (SHS) in cars. The work was commissioned by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and looked to characterise concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) during car journeys where people smoked. Using a Sidepak Personal Aerosol Monitor AM510 a total of 48 car journeys were assessed during October 2010. Details of car ventilation, car speed and journey characteristics were also collected and analysed. Results showed that average concentrations of PM2.5 during smoking journeys were approximately 95 micrograms per m3 of air compared to 7 μg/m3 in non-smoking car journeys. Peak levels during smoking journeys sometimes reached levels as high as 880 μg/m3. These peak values are comparable to those measured by IOM scientists in bars before smoke-free legislation was introduced in Scotland in 2006.
Smoking in cars
The work was presented at a conference of Tobacco Control specialists in Glasgow on the 19th January and also formed part of a media campaign launched on the same day by NHS GGC. This 'Smokefree cars' campaign generated substantial media interest with the measurements made by the SCIA being cited by radio and newspaper outlets including the BBC, The Metro, Evening Times , The Herald, STV and even as far afield as The Times of India.