Smoking policies and secondhand smoke in rental cars

Objectives. Smoking cigarettes in a car can cause high air concentrations of SHS pollutants and residual contamination. Although many rental car companies attempt to protect customers by designating some or all of their cars “non-smoking,” it is unknown if these efforts are successful. This study is the first to examine the prevalence and level of SHS contamination in rental cars. Design. We will sample 105 cars from national companies and 105 from local companies; requesting a car in which smoking is allowed for 20% of rentals, a designated nonsmoker car for 40%, and without specifying a preference for 40% (“unknown”). Surface wipe, air, and dust samples are collected to measure concentrations of nicotine, 3-ethenylpyridine (3EP), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The cars are inspected for detectable signs of tobacco use including odor, ashes, and burn marks. Interviews regarding smoking policies are conducted with company representatives. Results. Preliminary analyses (n=70) indicated that cars designated as nonsmoking did not exhibit fewer detectable signs of tobacco use than smoker or “unknown” cars. Residual secondhand smoke was detected in 50% of non-smoker, 71% of smoker, and 64% of “unknown” cars. Of the contaminated cars, the geometric means and 95% CIs for surface nicotine (mg/m²)were non-smoker: 2.53 (1.23;4.57), “unknown”: 5.71 (2.69;11.21), and smoker: 7.79 (3.10;17.86). Neither the non-smoker nor the “unknown” cars' nicotine concentration levels differed significantly from the requested smoker cars. Conclusion. Voluntary smoking policies put in place by car rental companies do not appear to create SHS-free car environments.