Is smoker/nonsmoker segregation effective in reducing passive inhalation among nonsmokers?

Abstract

Using expired carbon monoxide (CO) and a test of coordination as measures of tobacco smoke exposure in a natural environmental setting where smokers and nonsmokers were segregated, results indicate that by comparison to a control group, subjects seated in adjacent smoking/ nonsmoking environments were not only exposed to similar ambient levels of CO, but also show similar physical and physiological reactions to their exposure in the form of coordination test scores, expired CO, and blood carboxyhemoglobin. While the results may not be generalized to other tobacco smoke constituents or other environmental settings, they raise questions about the health benefits of smoker segregation which future research must address.