A ban on smoking in public places since March 2004 in Ireland has found to have improved the health of bar workers in Dublin and also enhanced air quality in pubs, says a study.
A team from the Research Institute for a Tobacco Free Society in Dublin studied environmental tobacco smoke exposure in the city's 42 pubs and tested 73 bar workers who volunteered to take part in the study.The smoking ban has improved air quality in the pubs as well as improved bar workers' health, the researchers found. The ban led to an 83 percent reduction in air pollution and an 80 percent cut in cancer-causing agents, according to the health portal News Medical.
The lung function of bar workers had improved, said the study published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
"These results confirm that the approach of a total ban on smoking in the workplace is successful in reducing the exposure of workers to particles," Luke Clancy, who led the research, said.
"Dr Clancy's study shows not only how direct the harm is but - most importantly - it shows how comprehensive smoke-free public places can reverse the harm," Martin Dockrell, of Action on Smoking and Health, said.
Source-IANS
MED/V
