Secondhand Smoke Way Down, Brits Find


Levels of secondhand smoke exposure among nonsmoking English adults declined significantly after smoke-free laws went into effect, according to a new U.K. study.Exposure to secondhand smoke, as measured by the percentage of the population with undetectable salivary cotinine, declined from 1998 to 2008. The percentage of the population who had undetectable cotinine was 2.9 times higher and the geometric mean cotinine declined by 80% over the term, Michelle Sims, PhD, from the UK Centre for Tobacco Control Studies at the University of Bath, and colleagues found.After the implementation of the legislation, there was also a significant fall in exposure, they reported in Environmental Health Perspectives.The odds of having undetectable cotinine were 1.5 times higher (95% CI 1.3 to 1.8) and the geometric mean cotinine declined by 27% (95% CI 17% to 36%) after adjusting for pre-legislation trend and potential confounders.
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