Effects of Electronic Cigarettes and Hookah (Waterpipe) Use on Home Air Quality.
Saturday, June 19, 2021
Posted by: Natalia Gromov
Shearston
JA, Eazor J, Lee L, et al.
Effects of Electronic
Cigarettes and Hookah (Waterpipe) Use on Home Air Quality.
Tobacco Control Published Online First: 21 May 2021. doi:
10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2020-056437.
Introduction.
A major site of secondhand smoke exposure for children and adults is the home.
Few studies have evaluated the impact of e-cigarette or hookah use on home air
quality, despite evidence finding toxic chemicals in secondhand e-cigarette
aerosols and hookah smoke. We assessed the effect of e-cigarette and hookah use
on home air quality and compared it with air quality in homes where cigarettes
were smoked and where no smoking or e-cigarette use occurred.
Methods.
Non-smoking homes and homes where e-cigarettes, hookah or cigarettes were used
were recruited in the New York City area (n=57) from 2015 to 2019. Particulate
matter with diameter less than 2.5 µm (PM2.5), black carbon and carbon monoxide
(CO) were measured during a smoking or vaping session, both in a ‘primary’
smoking room and in an adjacent ‘secondary’ room where no smoking or vaping
occurred. Log transformed data were compared with postanalysis of variance
Tukey simultaneous tests.
Results.
Use of hookah significantly increased PM2.5 levels compared with non-smoking
homes, in both the primary and secondary rooms, while use of e-cigarettes
increased PM2.5 levels only in primary rooms. Additionally, in-home use of
hookah resulted in greater CO concentrations than the use of cigarettes in
primary rooms.
Conclusions.
Use of e-cigarettes or hookah increases air pollution in homes. For hookah,
increases in PM2.5 penetrated even into rooms adjacent to where smoking occurs.
Extending smoke-free rules inside homes to include e-cigarette and hookah
products is needed to protect household members and visitors from passive
exposure to harmful aerosols and gases.
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