Subjects sought for research on smoking

By Emily Richmond

Wednesday, May 8, 2002 | 9:46 a.m.

Nevada medical researchers conducting a landmark study on the effects of second-hand smoke on casino dealers say cocktail waitresses, floor workers and bartenders will also be sought to participate.

Since the study was first announced in September, lead researcher Chris Pritsos has recruited 51 dealers to participate. There is room for about 325 more participants, Pritsos said.

"We wanted to expand the study so we could include more workers in multiple sites and draw broader, more conclusive findings," said Pritsos, chairman of the nutrition department at the University of Nevada, Reno.

Pritsos' four-year study is the first to examine the long-term effects of workplace exposure to second-hand smoke. More than 60,000 Americans die each year from illnesses related to second-hand smoke, according to the American Heart Association. Nearly 400 of those deaths are in Clark County.

Funded with a $2.3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, the Nevada study will focus on whether antioxidants and other vitamins have any preventative benefits against the effects of second-hand smoke. The participants are divided into three groups. One group will receive low doses of vitamin supplements, while the second group will receive higher doses. The third group will take a placebo.

Nevada has the fewest smoke-free workplaces in the country, according to an August 2001 report published in the Journal of Occupational Medicine. The Silver State has the most adult smokers in the nation, and also the highest rate of asthma and deaths from smoking-related illnesses, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta.

Participants must be at least 25 years of age and nonsmokers. For more information about the study, call (702) 671-5037.