'Herbal' shisha products tested contained toxic trace metals and PAHs levels equivalent to, or in excess of, that found in cigarettes. Their mainstream and sidestream smoke emissions contained carcinogens equivalent to, or in excess of, those of tobacco products. The content of the air in the waterpipe cafés tested was potentially hazardous. These data, in aggregate, suggest that smoking 'herbal' shisha may well be dangerous to health.

No abstract

The partial smoking ban was followed by a decrease in nicotine concentrations in ambient air. These improvements can be attributed to the introduction of the smoking ban since no other policy change occurred during this period. Although this shows that concentrations of SHS decreased significantly, protection was still incomplete and further action is necessary to improve indoor air quality.

The recent cantonal ban on smoking in public places brought about an improvement in lung function, physical well-being and ETS symptoms of hospitality workers, including smokers.

Objectives To investigate the effect of a change in second hand smoke (SHS) exposure on heart rate variability (HRV) and pulse wave velocity (PWV), this study utilized a quasi-experimental setting when a smoking ban was introduced. Methods HRV, a quantitative marker of autonomic activity of the nervous system, and PWV, a marker of arterial stiffness, were measured in 55 non-smoking hospitality workers before and 3 to 12 months after a smoking ban and compared to a control group that did not experience an exposure change. SHS exposure was determined with a nicotine specific badge and expressed as inhaled cigarette equivalents per day (CE/d). Results PWV and HRV parameters significantly changed in a dose dependent manner in the intervention group compared to the control group. A one CE/d decrease was associated with a 2.3% (95% CI: 0.2, 4.4; p=0.031) higher root mean square of successive differences (RMSSD), a 5.7 % (95% CI: 0.9, 10.2; p=0.02) higher high frequency component and a 0.72% (95 % CI: 0.40–1.05; p<0.001) lower PWV. Conclusions PWV and HRV significantly improved after introducing smoke-free workplaces indicating a decreased cardiovascular risk.