THE haze may have subsided — for now — but cigarette smoke in an enclosed area could be far more dangerous to health than air quality in the "hazardous" range of the Pollutants Standards Index (PSI).

A reading above 300 on the PSI indicates more than 250 micrograms of pollutants per cubic metre of air.

The highest reading so far this year was only 150.

But in a smoke-filled indoor venue, such as a pub?

Each cubic metre of air has 622 micrograms of pollutants, according to a study conducted by the National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS).

That's like two lit cigarettes in an enclosed bedroom.

The study — which sampled bars, a restaurant, a hospital, hotels and shopping malls — also notes that the air at indoor venues with cigarette smoke is 28 times more polluted than an outdoor venue with no smokers.

"It's very startling because that's the exposure that all of us second-hand smokers will get, when we visit locations that allow indoor-smoking," said the principal investigator of the study in Singapore, Dr Koong Heng Nung, who is also NCCS' senior consultant of surgical oncology.

Second-hand cigarette smoke contains 4,800 chemicals and increases the risk of lung cancer by 30 per cent.

That the particles measured in his study are 2.5 microns — or just a quarter of the size of haze particles — also means that people are more vulnerable to cigarette smoke than haze.

That's because the particles "potentially stay longer in the air and potentially go further down in the body's airway", said Dr Koong.

The study, which is part of a multinational project, showed that Singapore's indoor air quality is nearly two times worse than the global average of 357 micrograms of pollutant per cubic metre of air indoors.

It did not investigate why this is so, but Dr Koong suggested this was possibly due to higher smoker density, poorer ventilation and more confined rooms.

Singapore is set to ban smoking in pubs and clubs next year. But that is not enough for the director of NCCS, Professor Soo Khee Chee.

"With the strong support of medical institutions and public health bodies as well as the public, I am confident we will be able to push for a total ban on tobacco in Singapore," said Prof Soo.

Smoking could be a bigger air pollutant than haze, says study

Tan Hui Leng
huileng@mediacorp.com.sg

THE haze may have subsided — for now — but cigarette smoke in an enclosed area could be far more dangerous to health than air quality in the "hazardous" range of the Pollutants Standards Index (PSI).

A reading above 300 on the PSI indicates more than 250 micrograms of pollutants per cubic metre of air.

The highest reading so far this year was only 150.

But in a smoke-filled indoor venue, such as a pub?

Each cubic metre of air has 622 micrograms of pollutants, according to a study conducted by the National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS).

That's like two lit cigarettes in an enclosed bedroom.

The study — which sampled bars, a restaurant, a hospital, hotels and shopping malls — also notes that the air at indoor venues with cigarette smoke is 28 times more polluted than an outdoor venue with no smokers.

"It's very startling because that's the exposure that all of us second-hand smokers will get, when we visit locations that allow indoor-smoking," said the principal investigator of the study in Singapore, Dr Koong Heng Nung, who is also NCCS' senior consultant of surgical oncology.

Second-hand cigarette smoke contains 4,800 chemicals and increases the risk of lung cancer by 30 per cent.

That the particles measured in his study are 2.5 microns — or just a quarter of the size of haze particles — also means that people are more vulnerable to cigarette smoke than haze.

That's because the particles "potentially stay longer in the air and potentially go further down in the body's airway", said Dr Koong.

The study, which is part of a multinational project, showed that Singapore's indoor air quality is nearly two times worse than the global average of 357 micrograms of pollutant per cubic metre of air indoors.

It did not investigate why this is so, but Dr Koong suggested this was possibly due to higher smoker density, poorer ventilation and more confined rooms.

Singapore is set to ban smoking in pubs and clubs next year. But that is not enough for the director of NCCS, Professor Soo Khee Chee.

"With the strong support of medical institutions and public health bodies as well as the public, I am confident we will be able to push for a total ban on tobacco in Singapore," said Prof Soo.
Smoking could be a bigger air pollutant than haze, says study

Tan Hui Leng
huileng@mediacorp.com.sg

THE haze may have subsided — for now — but cigarette smoke in an enclosed area could be far more dangerous to health than air quality in the "hazardous" range of the Pollutants Standards Index (PSI).

A reading above 300 on the PSI indicates more than 250 micrograms of pollutants per cubic metre of air.

The highest reading so far this year was only 150.

But in a smoke-filled indoor venue, such as a pub?

Each cubic metre of air has 622 micrograms of pollutants, according to a study conducted by the National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS).

That's like two lit cigarettes in an enclosed bedroom.

The study — which sampled bars, a restaurant, a hospital, hotels and shopping malls — also notes that the air at indoor venues with cigarette smoke is 28 times more polluted than an outdoor venue with no smokers.

"It's very startling because that's the exposure that all of us second-hand smokers will get, when we visit locations that allow indoor-smoking," said the principal investigator of the study in Singapore, Dr Koong Heng Nung, who is also NCCS' senior consultant of surgical oncology.

Second-hand cigarette smoke contains 4,800 chemicals and increases the risk of lung cancer by 30 per cent.

That the particles measured in his study are 2.5 microns — or just a quarter of the size of haze particles — also means that people are more vulnerable to cigarette smoke than haze.

That's because the particles "potentially stay longer in the air and potentially go further down in the body's airway", said Dr Koong.

The study, which is part of a multinational project, showed that Singapore's indoor air quality is nearly two times worse than the global average of 357 micrograms of pollutant per cubic metre of air indoors.

It did not investigate why this is so, but Dr Koong suggested this was possibly due to higher smoker density, poorer ventilation and more confined rooms.

Singapore is set to ban smoking in pubs and clubs next year. But that is not enough for the director of NCCS, Professor Soo Khee Chee.

"With the strong support of medical institutions and public health bodies as well as the public, I am confident we will be able to push for a total ban on tobacco in Singapore," said Prof Soo.
Smoking could be a bigger air pollutant than haze, says study

Tan Hui Leng
huileng@mediacorp.com.sg

THE haze may have subsided — for now — but cigarette smoke in an enclosed area could be far more dangerous to health than air quality in the "hazardous" range of the Pollutants Standards Index (PSI).

A reading above 300 on the PSI indicates more than 250 micrograms of pollutants per cubic metre of air.

The highest reading so far this year was only 150.

But in a smoke-filled indoor venue, such as a pub?

Each cubic metre of air has 622 micrograms of pollutants, according to a study conducted by the National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS).

That's like two lit cigarettes in an enclosed bedroom.

The study — which sampled bars, a restaurant, a hospital, hotels and shopping malls — also notes that the air at indoor venues with cigarette smoke is 28 times more polluted than an outdoor venue with no smokers.

"It's very startling because that's the exposure that all of us second-hand smokers will get, when we visit locations that allow indoor-smoking," said the principal investigator of the study in Singapore, Dr Koong Heng Nung, who is also NCCS' senior consultant of surgical oncology.

Second-hand cigarette smoke contains 4,800 chemicals and increases the risk of lung cancer by 30 per cent.

That the particles measured in his study are 2.5 microns — or just a quarter of the size of haze particles — also means that people are more vulnerable to cigarette smoke than haze.

That's because the particles "potentially stay longer in the air and potentially go further down in the body's airway", said Dr Koong.

The study, which is part of a multinational project, showed that Singapore's indoor air quality is nearly two times worse than the global average of 357 micrograms of pollutant per cubic metre of air indoors.

It did not investigate why this is so, but Dr Koong suggested this was possibly due to higher smoker density, poorer ventilation and more confined rooms.

Singapore is set to ban smoking in pubs and clubs next year. But that is not enough for the director of NCCS, Professor Soo Khee Chee.

"With the strong support of medical institutions and public health bodies as well as the public, I am confident we will be able to push for a total ban on tobacco in Singapore," said Prof Soo.