A Study of Ventilation and Indoor Air Quality in Hospitality Venues Where Smoking is Allowed

Ventilation is an effective method of introducing air into and moving air through buildings to achieve indoor air quality that is comparable to outdoor air quality. However, questions have recently been raised about the effect of ventilation on indoor air quality in hospitality venues where smoking is allowed. Dilution and removal of particles and gasses from various sources within a building and controlling temperature and humidity are the primary reasons for ventilation. Some of the first mechanical ventilation systems were designed to control particles and gasses from tobacco smoke [1]. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the performance of ventilation systems in a number of typical hospitality venues in the United Kingdom where smoking is allowed, and to compare the air quality in these venues with the air quality outside of these venues.
This paper presents measurements of ventilation and indoor air quality including environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) parameters sampled in several locations within each venue to assess the effectiveness of the ventilation systems. The indoor air quality measurements included carbon dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, temperature, relative humidity, respirable suspended particles, particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5) and particulate matter 10 (PM10). Particle measurements specific to ETS included Solanesol. The investigators also present measurements taken in the outdoor air as a means of comparing outdoor air quality with the indoor air quality. This study demonstrates that ventilation is effective in hospitality venues where smoking is permitted and that the indoor air quality of these venues is comparable to the outdoor air quality.