UA researchers support proposed smoking ban

Jeffrey Williams Arizona Daily Wildcat Shengjun Wang, assistant research scientist for pediatrics, assembles the INTOX inhalation chamber yesterday in a University Medical Center research lab. The chamber allows researchers to test the long-term effects of cigarette smoke on the lungs of mice.

Ronald Watson, a University of Arizona public health research professor, said yesterday the Tucson city council's proposed ban would be "an absolute no-brainer from a public health point of view."

"There is a significant health risk from exposure to second-hand smoke," said Watson, who has been a UA researcher for 16 years. "It is a public health emergency. Everybody who walks into a (smoking) restaurant could be affected by second-hand smoke."

The proposed ban, suggested Feb. 22 by Democratic Councilwoman Janet Marcus, has been met with opposition by some fellow council members and UA-area restaurant management.

Critics say the legislation would have devastating effects on some Tucson eateries.

But the researchers said a ban would stop non-smoking customers from ingesting harmful second-hand smoke.

Watson, along with associate research professor Mark Witten, has pioneered studies that expose mice to second-hand smoke through an inhalation chamber. The research examines changes in the animals' lungs and other tissue.

Watson's studies used nude mice - which have no hair and damaged immune systems - to study the harmful effects of second-hand smoke and the introduction of vitamin E as a possible preventative measure.

For six weeks at 15 minutes a day, the mice were put into plastic tubes and forced to breathe air that included second-hand smoke.

The total exposure, five hours, is the rough equivalent to being in a smoking section of a restaurant once or twice a week.

Witten's study found second-hand cigarette smoke "may be more toxic than inhaled smoke due to its lower combustion temperature." He also discovered "tobacco smoke is a significant contributing factor of respiratory and cardiovascular disorders."

The study also stated that "cigarette smoke contains a large amount of oxidants and free radicals that directly initiate and promote oxidative damage in the lungs."

Watson observed changes in the lungs and other tissues of the mice, and noticed that the vitamin E reduced some of the damage.

As more and more eateries are catering to older, non-smoking adults, a restaurant smoking ban would have "more and more of an economic advantage" for many businesses, he said.

Watson added that he did not think a ban would create an impossible situation for restaurant owners.

If restaurants with smoking sections were to have separate ventilation systems, the problem could be solved without a ban, he said.

Jacob Pinnas, a former UA allergist from 1973 to 1992 who has been doing clinical research at the university, said he has found that second-hand smoke can aggravate asthma, bronchitis and nasal allergies.

Pinnas said the effects of second-hand smoke irritate the lungs and make them more sensitive.

"Second-hand smoke is a form of indoor air pollution," Pinnas said. "Like air pollution, it can aggravate allergies and activate inflammation in the lungs."

Pinnas said he would support a city council restaurant smoking ban.

"Why should someone be allowed to cause bodily harm to another?" he asked. "I don't think that people who are non-smokers should have to be exposed to cigarette smoke."

Scott Young, a research assistant, has worked with Witten and Shengjun Wang, assistant research scientist for pediatrics, on the second-hand smoke studies.

"After we exposed the mice to smoke, our research focuses on the effects of the cigarette smoke on pulmonary functions," Young said. "The data we have shows it can cause changes in immune system or pulmonary functions. I think it would be beneficial to ban smoking in restaurants because of health concerns, but it is kind of a jump to tell restaurant owners to do so just because of our studies with mice."