Objectives: To describe levels of exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) in various public places in Barcelona (Spain).
Material and method: Vapor-phase nicotine was measured with passive samplers containing a sodium bisulfate treated filter with a 37 mm diameter. The places sampled were primary and secondary schools, hospitals, primary care centers, train stations, subways, universities, airports, restaurants and discotheques.
Results: Primary and secondary schools and health centers had the lowest levels of ETS exposure, with mean concentrations of less than 1 microg/m3. The mean values found in transport and universities were 2.16 microg/m3 in train stations, 3.30 microg/m3 in subways, 4.30 microg/m3 in airports and 4.97 microg/m3 in universities. The highest concentrations were found in restaurants and discotheques, with mean values of 12.36 microg/m3 in restaurants and 130.65 microg/m3 in discotheques. All samples taken from primary and secondary schools, airports, subways, restaurants and discotheques contained ETS. Likewise, 90% of the samples taken from train stations and 96% of those from universities contained ETS. Seventy-nine percent of the samples from hospitals and 58% of those from primary care centers contained ETS.
Conclusions: The results confirm that passive smoking is an important public health problem in Spain and that greater efforts are needed to enforce smoke-free policies in public spaces and workplaces.