Non-Smoking Hotel Rooms Still Expose Guests to Tobacco Smoke

Think you're safe from harmful chemicals because you choose a non-smoking room in a hotel? Guess again. Researchers found that non-smoking hotel guests are still exposed to tobacco pollution even in non-smoking hotel rooms.

Researchers recommend staying in a completely smoke-free hotel if you want to avoid tobacco smoke pollution (nicotine and 3EP), known as third hand smoke. A study conducted in a random sample of budget to mid-range hotels in San Diego, California, showed that tobacco chemicals were still found in non-smoking hotel rooms, according to a press release.

The study included ten completely smoke-free hotels and 30 hotels that have smoking and non-smoking rooms. Non-smokers who spent the night at one of the hotels were given urine and finger wipe tests to determine their exposure to nicotine and NKK, a cancer causing agent found in tobacco smoke.

The study showed that non-smoking rooms still had plenty of tobacco pollution and the partial smoking ban didn't protect guests in designated non-smoking rooms.

The nicotine and air 3EP levels were higher in the non-smoking and smoking rooms of hotels with partial bans than in hotels that are completely smoke-free. The nicotine levels were more than twice as high in hotels with non-smoking rooms than those smoke-free hotels.

Even hallway surfaces outside of smoking rooms had higher nicotine levels than those outside non-smoking rooms.

The non-smokers who stayed in hotels with partial smoking bans had higher levels of finger nicotine and urinary cotinine than those staying in hotels operating total bans.

"Our findings demonstrate that some non-smoking guest rooms in smoking hotels are as polluted with [third hand smoke] as are some smoking rooms," write the authors. They go on to say: "Moreover, non-smoking guests staying in smoking rooms may be exposed to tobacco smoke pollutants at levels found among non-smokers exposed to second hand smoke."

Not many countries have a smoking ban, particularly for hotels and the findings show "suggest that it is time to abandon smoke-free exemptions for hotels."

The researchers recommend that new hotels should implement total smoking bans to protect their guests and employees and they recommend that "Guests who wish to protect themselves from exposure to tobacco smoke should avoid hotels that permit smoking and instead stay in completely smoke-free hotels."