A New Diffusive Sampler for Determining Nicotine and 3-Ethenylpyridine Contents in Second-Hand Smoke

A new diffusive sampler for determining nicotine and 3-ethenylpyridine in second-hand smoke (SHS) was developed and its quality and performance were validated. The diffusive sampler is composed of an adsorption disk coated with XAD-4/PDMS on a glass fibre filter, a cellulose acetate-coated membrane filter as a windscreen, a polypropylene cassette with a cover and a badge clip. The analytical procedure was based on ISO 18145 for the active method. The performance of the diffusive sampler was assessed according to the MDHS 27 protocol. Sampling rates were determined empirically by exposing XAD-4 active samplers and XAD-4/PDMS diffusive samplers to the same SHS atmosphere. The uptake rate of nicotine and 3-ethenylpyridine were 36.3 mLċmin−1 and 38.8 mLċmin−1, respectively. SHS field studies were carried out using the diffusive samplers. The median concentrations of nicotine and 3-ethenylpyridine in non-smoking areas were 0.183 and 0.526 µgċm−3, respectively. The ratios of nicotine to 3-ethenylpyridine decreased according to the freshness of the SHS. The median concentrations of nicotine, 3-ethenylpyridine and suspended particulate matter (SPM) for 24-h personal exposure in the passive smoking group were 0.0422, 0.0905 and 24.3 µgċm−3, respectively.