The Ventilation Issue…

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The Ventilation Argument

Statement prepared by the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation and endorsed by ASH and the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health and Asthma UK, July 2004

It is often claimed by the tobacco industry that ventilation will remove the effects of secondhand smoke from work and public places. However, it is interesting to note that the tobacco companies who endorse ventilation systems have issued disclaimers about such systems having any ability to address the health effects of secondhand smoking.

Tobacco companies have a vested interest in maintaining and promoting smoking in public places as it has been shown that effective smoke free policies in public places can reduce smoking prevalence by up to 4%.

Everyday at least three million workers in the UK, unwillingly, become secondhand smokers. Secondhand smoke causes or exacerbates a wide range of adverse health effects, including cancer, a range of respiratory diseases, including asthma, and heart disease. Shockingly, it is estimated that one employee in the hospitality industry dies every week from the effects of secondhand smoke.

There are no safe levels of exposure to secondhand smoke.

Is Ventilation Effective?

No . Tobacco smoke is a toxic mix of over 4,000 chemicals including over 40 cancer-causing agents.

Ventilation may remove the smell of tobacco smoke but it does not eliminate all the cancer-causing particles and gases from the air. Just because the air is not visibly smoky does not mean it is safe.

In the case of separate smoking areas with discrete ventilation systems, pollution levels may be slightly reduced but tobacco smoke drifts and therefore staff and customers will still have no choice but to breathe secondhand smoke.

For ventilation to have any significant effect, it would need to be ‘tornado strength’. The scientific evidence is strong and robust:

Ventilation systems cannot eliminate the risk of disease or death from secondhand tobacco smoke.

Ventilation is very costly

Ventilation systems cost tens of thousands of pounds but do nothing to guard against the real health dangers of secondhand smoke. Furthermore, the cost of maintaining and cleaning systems is such that reports have shown that many proprietors leave their ventilation systems switched off, as they find the running costs too high. Poorly maintained ventilation systems are even less likely to be an effective means of reducing the effects of secondhand smoke.

Recent research in venues in Sydney, Australia, shows that designated “no-smoking” areas in the hospitality industry provide at best partial protection and at worst no protection at all against the damaging effects of secondhand smoke

As all environmental health practitioners are aware, in any risk reduction hierarchy, ventilation, whether general background or local exhaust ventilation are techniques of last resort.

Who promotes ventilation?

The tobacco industry and its lobby organisations (particularly FOREST) advocate "ventilation solutions" as a "reasonable" alternative to the establishment of smoke free work and public places. They fully understand that smokefree environments reduce the consumption of cigarettes and they therefore have a vested interest in maintaining the smoking status quo. They seek to mislead the public by maintaining that ventilation systems effectively address the issue of secondhand smoke. And yet, Philip Morris the largest tobacco company in the world admits on it’s website that ventilation systems have

“…not been shown to address the health effects of secondhand smoke.”

The Public Places Charter on Smoking

This scheme is designed to encourage venues to increase provision for non-smokers and improve overall air quality. The charter advocates ventilation as a means of providing clean air despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

Moreover, the scheme is voluntary and four years after being introduced fewer than 1% of venues in the hospitality trade are totally smoke-free.

The solution?

The only way to eliminate the health risks from secondhand smoke is to implement completely smoke free work and public place policies. This action will protect all staff and customers from the harmful constituents of secondhand smoke. It also has the lowest cost implications for employers