THE CHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL TOBACCO-SMOKE

A detailed characterization of environmental tobacco smoke is needed in order to understand at least four areas which are important to the proper evaluation of the impact of smoking on the nonsmoker in indoor environments: 1. identification of the chemical compounds to which the nonsmoker is exposed, 2. determination of changes in the chemical composition and in the gas‐particulate phase distribution of environmental tobacco smoke with time in the indoor environment, 3. identification of substances which may be used to estimate the exposure of the nonsmoker to environmental tobacco smoke in the indoor environment, and 4. risk assessment of disease and irritant exacerbations associated with exposure of the nonsmoker to environmental tobacco smoke. The first three areas are reviewed in this paper. © 1990 Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.