The Effect of Floor Height on Secondhand Smoke Transfer in Multiunit Housing

Emily Gill, Elle Anastasiou, Albert Tovar, Donna Shelley, Ana Rule, Rui Chen, Lorna E. Thorpe and Terry Gordon
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Emily Gill: Department of Population Health, Grossman School of Medicine, New York University, New York, NY 10016, USA
Elle Anastasiou: Department of Population Health, Grossman School of Medicine, New York University, New York, NY 10016, USA
Albert Tovar: Department of Population Health, Grossman School of Medicine, New York University, New York, NY 10016, USA
Donna Shelley: Department of Public Health Policy and Management, School of Global Public Health, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA
Ana Rule: Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
Rui Chen: Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
Lorna E. Thorpe: Department of Population Health, Grossman School of Medicine, New York University, New York, NY 10016, USA
Terry Gordon: Department of Population Health, Grossman School of Medicine, New York University, New York, NY 10016, USA

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 7, 1-7

Abstract: Secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure remains a major public health concern in the United States. Homes have become the primary source of SHS exposure, with elevated risks for residents of multiunit housing. Though this differential risk is well-documented, little is known about whether SHS exposure varies by floor height. The aim of this study was to examine whether SHS accumulates in higher floors of multiunit housing. Using validated passive nicotine sampling monitors, we sampled air nicotine concentrations on multiple floors of 21 high-rise (>15 floors) buildings in New York City. Within the buildings, measurements were collected in three locations: non-smoking individual apartments, hallways and stairwells. Measurements were collected in two winter and two summer waves to account for potential seasonality effects. We analyzed the percent of filters with detectable nicotine and quantified nicotine concentration (µg/m 3 ). Higher floor levels were positively associated with both airborne nicotine measures, with some variation by location and season observed. In winter, the trends were statistically significant in apartments (floors ≤7: 0.022 µg/m 3 ; floors 8–14: 0.026 µg/m 3 ; floors ≥15: 0.029 µg/m 3 ; p = 0.011) and stairwells (floors ≤7: 0.18 µg/m 3 ; floors 8–14: 0.19 µg/m 3 ; floors ≥15: 0.59 µg/m 3 ; p = 0.006). These findings can inform interventions to mitigate the SHS exposure of residents in multiunit housing.

Keywords: secondhand smoke; smoke transfer; airborne nicotine; multiunit housing; building height (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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