Air Quality Monitoring for Advocacy

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Air Quality Monitoring for Advocacy

Version 1.0 (October 2009)
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Air quality monitoring for tobacco control

• Secondhand smoke (SHS) from cigarettes and other
  burned tobacco products are hazardous to smokers
  AND nonsmokers.
• With every breath of SHS, you inhale a toxic soup
  of more than 4,000 chemical compounds
• Air quality monitoring helps you measure
  pollution from secondhand smoke.

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Overview

• What are you monitoring and why?
• What does air quality monitoring involve
  (process)?
• How do we use air quality monitoring data for
  advocacy?

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What are you monitoring?

• SidePak monitors measure the levels of respirable
  suspended particles in the air that contribute to
  particle pollution, also known as particulate
  matter (PM).
• While PM come in many sizes, cigarettes, cigars
  and pipes are MAJOR emitters of PM2.5 a
  particle size that SidePaks can easily measure.
• PM2.5 particles are too small to be trapped by
  the nose or throat and can get deep into the
  lungs and even into your bloodstream.

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Why monitor air quality?
Because PM2.5 particles can get into the lungs
and your bloodstream, it causes severe health
problems, including

• coughing
• chest discomfort
• palpitations
• wheezing
• shortness of breath
• unusual fatigue
• cancer
• premature death
• low birth weight
• SIDS
• eye and nasal irritation

• lung disease
• asthma attacks
• acute/chronic bronchitis
• respiratory infections
• heart attacks
• other heart disease
• arrhythmias

Source Environmental Protection Agency
AirNow.gov
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Why monitor in INDOOR locations?
Secondhand smoke is a primary cause of indoor air
pollution in workplaces and other indoor places
(i.e., bars, restaurants, educational
institutions, airports, hospitals, etc.).
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How can you do air quality monitoring?

• Air quality monitoring involves
• Knowing your local smoke-free law
• 2) Determining your objective and identifying
  what
• story you want to tell with your data, based
  on
• your law
• 3) Collecting and analyzing your data
• 4) Disseminating your results (advocacy)

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Knowing your smoke-free law

• Familiarize yourself with key components of
• your local smoke-free law, if there is one. KNOW
• What types of facilities are covered in the
  smoke-free law?
• Is it a 100 smoke-free law or does the law allow
  for designated smoking areas/rooms?
• If it allows for designated smoking area/rooms,
  what are the guidelines in place?

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Determining your objective

• There are three main objectives that you can work
• towards using your AQM data
• Objective 1 Pass a smoke-free law
• Objective 2 Strengthen an existing smoke-free
  law
• Objective 3 Monitor compliance of an existing
  smoke-free law

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Using AQM data to tell stories

• Here are some ways to approach each objective.
• The following slides illustrate what stories
  could
• Be told under each of these objectives.
• Objective 1 Pass a smoke-free law
• Story ideas You may want to compare the air
  quality levels of
• smoke-free locations to other smoking locations
• smoking locations to polluted locations
• Smoking locations to other outdoor locations
• Looking ahead This baseline data can be used to
  compare to levels after the law is implemented

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Using AQM data to tell stories

• Objective 2 Strengthen an existing smoke-
  free law
• Story ideas Laws that allow for designated
  smoking rooms (DSRs)/areas are weak because they
  dont effectively protect from secondhand smoke.
  Choose locations that have designated smoking
  rooms. Be sure to sample the air quality in both,
  the designated smoking and non-smoking areas for
  each place with DSRs and then compare them to
  100 smoke-free places.

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Using AQM data to tell stories

• Objective 3 Monitor compliance of an existing
  smoke-free law
• Story ideas Is your government effectively
  enforcing your existing smoke-free law? In
  general, high compliance means that no one is
  smoking in designated smoke-free areas. Select
  several public locations to survey. Find places
  that do and do NOT comply with the law and
  compare the air quality levels of both. If there
  is a high level of compliance (i.e., you dont
  find anyone smoking in designated smoke-free
  areas), then take the opportunity to congratulate
  the local jurisdiction. If there is a low level
  of compliance, then use your AQM data to advocate
  for better enforcement. You might want to
  organize your data based on location type
  (restaurants, bars, offices, hospitals).

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Objective 1 Pass a smoke-free law Story idea
Comparing smoke-free to smoking venues
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Objective 1 (cont.) Pass a smoke-free law Story
idea Comparing levels of different types of
indoor venues
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Objective 1 (cont.) Pass a smoke-free law Story
idea Smoking vs. heavily polluted areas
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Objective 2 Strengthen an existing smoke-free
law Story idea Partial laws that allow for
smoking rooms/areas
(Six restaurants of each of the three types of
restaurants)
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Objective 2 Strengthen an existing smoke-free
law Story idea Smoking exceptions for
hospitality locations, but not other workplaces
Partially smoke-free
100 Smoke-free
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Objective 3 Monitor compliance of an existing
smoke-free law Story idea Pre-law vs.
anticipated post-law implementation
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Other story ideas Comparing different cities
Low levels of indoor air pollution
High levels of indoor air pollution
www.tobaccofreeair.org
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Other story ideas Comparing different countries
24 Country Comparison of Levels of Indoor Air
Pollution in Different Workplaces (2006)
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The bottom line

• Regardless of where and how the study is
• done
• Smoky locations have very POOR air quality in
  comparison to smoke-free locations.
• 100 smoke-free areas have better air quality
  than places that allow smoking or have smoking
  areas.

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Collecting and analyzing data

• Collecting data is easy (we have easy-to-follow
• instructions). All you have to do is
• Prepare your monitor
• 2) Take it out to each location for at least 30
  minutes
• 3) Log observational notes, while the machine
  reads and collects
• air quality levels at your location
• 4) Upload monitor-collected data to a computer
• 5) Send monitor data and observational data to us
  (We facilitate
• the data analysis for you and answer any of
  your questions
• along the way) 
• 6) The analysis report will be completed for you
  by experts

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Disseminating your air quality monitoring results
effectively

• Once you determine your objective, establish
• your strategy for releasing your results
• Identify your target audience (i.e., journalists,
  citizens, politicians, advocates, enforcement
  officers) and who would most benefit from the
  story youre trying to tell.
• Develop key research-based messages how are you
  going to convey your message based on your target
  audience?
• Along with your AQM results, your messages should
  include
• Information on the dangers of secondhand smoke.
• Background on tobacco use in your country.
• A description of the smoke-free law.

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Disseminating your air quality monitoring results
effectively (cont.)

• Identify opponents and research their likely
  messages and strategies
• Establish tactics on how to effectively
  disseminate your story to your target audience
  (i.e., presentations, media release, written
  materials, other)
• Identify key spokespeople (i.e., media,
  politicians, enforcement officers, advocates,
  researchers) who can help deliver your message
• This must be someone that is credible, knows the
  data, and is well-trained on how to effectively
  communicate the key messages.
• 6) Release your results!

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Air quality monitoring and advocacy

• The purpose of air quality monitoring is for
• advocacy. You can use your results to
• Generate earned media to draw attention to the
  issue
• Inform the public to build support
• Inform policymakers especially important to
  advocate for new/improved smoke-free laws

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Using your results to generate earned media

• Generate EARNED MEDIA by
• Creating a press release
• Writing a letter to the editor of a newspaper
• Contacting newspaper reporters to generate
  interest
• Holding a press event

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Press Release Ukraine (2009)
Press Release following the Sumy, Ukraine air
monitoring project. Objective to pass a new law
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Newspaper coverage U.S. (2004)
Multiple newspaper articles following a
multi-city air monitoring study in the U.S.
Reporters were invited on some monitoring
visits. Objective to pass a new law
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Online news Argentina (2007)
Separating areas for smokers does not protect
nonsmokers health
Online media coverage following study on partial
laws in Argentina Objective to strengthen
existing smoke-free laws
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Newspaper coverage Mumbai, India (2009)
Two newspaper articles following a pre-post law
air monitoring study in Mumbai, India Objective
to monitor compliance of an existing smoke-free
law
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News Conference China
News conference in China Objective to pass a new
law
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Using your results to reach the public

• EDUCATE THE PUBLIC
• Create a summary document of the results that is
  informative and easy to understand
• Educate your peers by presenting the information
  in schools and other community institutions
• Present the information at community forums and
  town meetings
• Create flyers or posters to display information
  in prominent, well traveled areas e.g. schools,
  community centers, and local businesses

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Fact sheet Kolkata, India (2009)
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Flyer Delaware, U.S.A (2002 and 2003)
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Using your results to reach policymakers

• Frame the message for policymakers
• Meet with policymakers to inform them about the
  findings
• Provide materials in a easy to use format (e.g.
  fact sheets)
• Generate media attention through press releases
  and press conferences
• Give POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS!

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Oregon air monitoring summary report (for
policymakers)
Laws requiring all workplaces, including bars,
to be smoke-free, effectively reduce PM2.5 to
levels judged by the EPA to be safe for human
health. Oregon should act now for the
health and safety of workers and consumers and
make all indoor workplaces smoke-free.
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Some places where AQM has successfully been used

• Argentina
• Canada
• China
• Germany
• Greece
• India
• Ireland
• Malaysia
• Mexico

• New Zealand
• Russia
• Spain
• Thailand
• Turkey
• Ukraine
• United Kingdom
• United States
• Uruguay

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Air quality monitoring studies can complement
your smoke-free campaign
Conducting and publicizing air quality monitoring
studies is an effective tool for smoke-free
advocacy campaigns!!!