Here’s some compelling evidence in support of making outdoor bars and restaurants smokefree: A new study shows that people who are exposed to secondhand smoke at outdoor bars and restaurants can suffer the same kinds of health effects as people exposed inside.
In the study, published in Environmental Health Perspectives, researchers collected urine and saliva samples from people who spent several hours outside bars and restaurants, where smoking was allowed. Those samples were compared to those from people who spent time outdoors at a smokefree establishment.
The people who breathed secondhand smoke for three hours still had a nicotine byproduct in their blood the morning after they were exposed to the secondhand smoke. As we all know, secondhand smoke has more than 4,000 chemicals, including dozens of carcinogens.
Smokefree outdoor patios, anyone?