Air Quality Guidelines - World Health Organization Regional Office ...

indoor air pollutants
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uncertainty in estimates for cardiovascular disease are that (a) there are fewer
epidemiological data available (in particular, there are few data for males,
which is especially critical because males have a very different baseline risk of
cardiovascular disease than females), and (b) there are more risk factors for
cardiovascular disease that need to be adjusted for to obtain a reliable risk
estimate. In general, the relative risk estimates for cardiovascular disease
from ETS exposure are similar to those for lung cancer; however, the
baseline risk of death from cardiovascular disease in nonsmokers is at least
10 times higher than the risk of lung cancer. Therefore, the population risks
could be roughly 10 times higher as well. Thus, while there is more confidence
in the presented estimates for lung cancer, the public health impact of
ETS is expected to be substantially greater for cardiovascular disease.
Guidelines
ETS has been found to be carcinogenic in humans and to produce a substantial
amount of morbidity and mortality from other serious health
effects at levels of 1–10 µg/m 3 nicotine (taken as an indicator of ETS).
Acute and chronic respiratory health effects on children have been demonstrated
in homes with smokers (nicotine 1–10 µg/m 3 ) and even in homes
with occasional smoking (0.1–1 µg/m 3 ). There is no evidence for a safe
exposure level. The unit risk of cancer associated with lifetime ETS exposure
in a home where one person smokes is approximately 1 × 10 –3 .
References
1. Respiratory health effects of passive smoking: lung cancer and other disorders.
Washington, DC, US Environmental Protection Agency, 1992
(EPA/600/6-90/006F).
2. The health consequences of involuntary smoking. A report of the Surgeon
General. Washington, DC, US Department of Health and Human
Services, 1986 (DHHS Publication No. (PHS) 87–8398).
3. Tobacco smoking. Lyons, International Agency for Research on Cancer,
1986 (IARC Monographs on the Evaluation of the Carcinogenic Risk
of Chemicals to Humans, Vol. 38).
4. Environmental tobacco smoke in the workplace: lung cancer and other
health effects. Cincinnati, OH, National Institute for Occupational
Safety and Health, 1991 (Current Intelligence Bulletin, No. 54).
5. FONTHAM, E.T.H. ET AL. Environmental tobacco smoke and lung cancer
in nonsmoking women: a multicenter study. Journal of the American
Medical Association, 271: 1752–1759 (1994).
6. GLANTZ, S.A. & PARMLEY, W.W. Passive smoking and heart disease:
mechanisms and risk. Journal of the American Medical Association, 273:
1047–1053 (1995).