BMJ  2005;331 (12 November), doi:10.1136/bmj.331.7525.0-d

Irish smoking ban protected non-smoking bar staff

A smoking ban in the Republic of Ireland was successful in protecting non-smoking bar workers from secondhand smoke. In a before and after study of about 300 participating bar staff in the Republic of Ireland (intervention region) and Northern Ireland (control region), Allwright and colleagues (p 1117) found that concentrations of cotinine in saliva of non-smoking staff dropped by 80% in the republic after a ban on smoking in all indoor workplaces was introduced and, unexpectedly, by 20% in Northern Ireland over the same period. The intervention also seems to have reduced reporting of any respiratory symptoms—this dropped by 17% in the republic and remained steady in Northern Ireland.

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Legislation for smoke-free workplaces and health of bar workers in Ireland: before and after study

Shane Allwright, Gillian Paul, Birgit Greiner, Bernie J Mullally, Lisa Pursell, Alan Kelly, Brendan Bonner, Maureen D'Eath, Bill McConnell, James P McLaughlin, Diarmuid O'Donovan, Eamon O'Kane, and Ivan J Perry
BMJ 2005 331: 1117. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]