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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Joaquin Barnoya, MD, MPH, Fundación Aldo Castañeda, Unidad de Cirugia Cardiovascular de Guatemala, 6a Ave 8-71 zona 10, Clinica #3, Ala Sur, Guatemala, 01010, Guatemala, (502) 5993 2369, jbarnoya@post.harvard.edu, Carlos Mendoza-Montano, PhD, APRECOR, 6a Ave 8-71 zona 10, Guatemala, 01010, Guatemala, and Ana Navas-Acien, PhD, Department of Environmental Health, Johns Hokpins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N. Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD 21205.

OBJECTIVE: Secondhand smoke (SHS) poses a health risk to non-smokers. In Guatemala, few smoke-free environments (e.g. hospitals, government buildings) are mandated by law. The objective was to measure SHS levels in public places in Guatemala. METHODS: Exposure was estimated by passive sampling of vapor-phase nicotine using a filter badge. Filters were placed for 7 days in 1 hospital, 1 school, 2 universities, 1 government building, the airport, and 10 restaurants/bars. In total, 120 filters were placed (for quality control, 10% were duplicates and blanks). Filters are checked daily to verify the correct placement, count the number of persons and smokers, and to evaluate ventilation patterns. Nicotine in µg/m3 will be measured by gas-chromatography and medians and interquartile ranges reported. To compare results with other countries, levels will be log transformed and the differences in the means estimated using a t-test. Employees will respond a survey about air quality and beliefs about SHS. RESULTS: Surveillance of SHS levels is now in progress. We expect to finish placing monitors by March and have results by May. In the previous study of nicotine surveillance in Latin American countries, the highest levels were found in bars and restaurants. Nicotine was also found in government buildings and hospitals. We expect to find similar results to those found in other countries and that most employees support smoke-free environments. CONCLUSION: We hypothesize that exposure to SHS is still widespread in Guatemala. Our results will support legislation for smoke-free environments and serve as baseline for future surveillance.

Learning Objectives:

• Apply a simple nicotine monitoring protocol in a developing country.
• Describe levels of secondhand exposure in workplaces and public places in Guatemala 3.Analyze employees beliefs about secondhand smoke and smoke-free environments.

Keywords: Air Pollutants,

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Not Answered