Notice to Readers
NIOSH Current Intelligence Bulletin 54: Environmental Tobacco
Smoke in the Workplace; Lung Cancer and Other Health Effects
CDC's National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
(NIOSH) has released NIOSH Current Intelligence Bulletin 54:
Environmental Tobacco Smoke in the Workplace; Lung Cancer and
Other Health Effects (1).* Current Intelligence Bulletins (CIBs)
provide new data or update existing information about chemical
substances, physical agents, or safety hazards found in the
workplace.
CIB 54 presents information about the potential risk for
cancer to workers exposed to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS).
Since 1964, when the Surgeon General issued the first report on
smoking and health, research on the toxicity and carcinogenicity
of tobacco smoke has demonstrated that the health risk from
inhaling tobacco smoke is not limited to smokers, but also
includes nonsmokers who inhale ETS. ETS contains many of the
toxic agents and carcinogens that are present in mainstream
smoke, but in diluted form. Recent epidemiologic studies support
and reinforce earlier published reviews by the Surgeon General
and the National Research Council that demonstrate that exposure
to ETS can cause lung cancer. These reviews estimated the
relative risk of lung cancer to be approximately 1.3 for a
nonsmoker living with a smoker compared with a nonsmoker living
with a nonsmoker. In addition, recent evidence also suggests a
possible association between exposure to ETS and an increased
risk for heart disease in nonsmokers.
Although these data were not gathered in an occupational
setting, ETS meets the criteria of the Occupational Safety and
Health Administration (OSHA) for classification as a potential
occupational carcinogen.** NIOSH therefore considers ETS to be a
potential occupational carcinogen and recommends that exposures
be reduced to the lowest feasible concentration. The risk for
developing cancer should be decreased by minimizing exposure to
ETS. Employers should minimize occupational exposure to ETS by
using all available preventive measures.
Reported by: Div of Standards Development and Technology
Transfer, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health,
CDC.
Reference
NIOSH. Current intelligence bulletin #54: environmental
tobacco smoke in the workplace; lung cancer and other health
effects. Cincinnati, Ohio: US Department of Health and Human
Services, Public Health Service, CDC, 1991; DHHS publication no.
(NIOSH)91-108.
*Single copies are available without charge from the
Publications Dissemination Section, Division of Standards
Development and Technology Transfer, NIOSH, CDC, 4676 Columbia
Parkway, Cincinnati, OH 45226; telephone (513) 533-8287.
**29 CFR 1990.
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**Questions or messages regarding errors in formatting should be addressed to mmwrq@cdc.gov.
