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The Acute Effect of Environmental Tobacco Smoke Exposure on Asthmatics: Studies with a Dynamic Challenge Chamber
Author(s) -
Lehrer Samuel,
Me Prem,
Simlote Pradeep,
Rando Roy,
Musmand Jonathan,
McCants Marjorie,
Hughes Janet,
Lopez Manuel,
Salvaggio John
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
indoor air
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.387
H-Index - 99
eISSN - 1600-0668
pISSN - 0905-6947
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0668.1997.00006.x
Subject(s) - tobacco smoke , smoke , third hand smoke , environmental science , medicine , environmental health , cigarette smoke , environmental chemistry , toxicology , sidestream smoke , waste management , chemistry , engineering , biology
To determine the acute effects of environmental tobacco smoke on respiratory tract lung function, 130 asthmatics and 28 non‐asthmatics were exposed up to 4 hours to side stream environmental tobacco smoke (SS‐ETS) in a dynamic challenge chamber. The vast majority of the subjects exposed to SS‐ETS reported upper respiratory and ocular irritant symptoms; the prevalence of these symptoms was not significantly associated with any particular study groups analyzed, or with the self‐perception of tobacco smoke allergy by the study subject. All 28 SS‐ETS‐exposed non‐asthmatics had no significant change in lung function, while 26/130 asthmatics demonstrated a significant drop in pulmonary function (FEV 1 ≥20% decline), generally within 90 to 240 minutes after start of exposure. Classical late phase bronchoconstriction was not observed up to 24 hours following the challenge. Six/26 reactors had a significant drop in lung function following a sham control challenge, indicating that 20/130 asthmatics had a specific bronchoconstrictive response to SS‐ETS. Responses to diminishing levels of SS‐ETS demonstrated that some asthmatics can react to levels as low as 0.0128 cigarette – min/m 3 (comparable to ETS levels in the homes of many smokers).