Health impacts of exposure to second hand smoke (SHS) amongst a highly exposed workforce: survey of London casino workers

Table 5 Prevalence (%) of self-reported sensory and respiratory irritation symptoms, comparison of workforce studies

Sensory and respiratory irritation symptoms	London casino workers (all) n = 559	London casino workers (non smokers) n = 434	London casino workers (smokers) n = 125	Palmersheim et al, 2006, Wisconsin bar and restaurant workers** n = 230	Allwright et al, 2005, Ireland bar workers** n = 138	Eisner et al, 1998, California bar workers* n = 53	Wakefield et al, 2005 Victoria casino workers** n = 44	Farrelly et al, 2005, New York bar workers** n = 24
Sensory irritation symptoms
Eyes red or irritated	66	70	52	70	41	42	66	67
Runny nose, sneezing or nose irritation	77	79	72	78	44	60	61	54
Sore or scratchy throat	66	69	54	61	33	25	52	42
Respiratory irritation symptoms
Wheezing or whistling in the chest	38	38	38	31	21	32	20	21
Short of breath	47	47	44	41	16	19	23	17
Usually cough first thing in the morning	35	31	48	43	21	53	23	21
Cough at all during the rest of the day or night	61	59	64	52	38	49	30	29
Bring up any phlegm	44	43	49	53	43	53	25	21

* 45% of the workers were current smokers but results were only presented jointly
** workers were non-tobacco users
Studies were pre-ban in Ireland and New York

ISSN: 1471-2458