The effect of passive smoking on vigilance performance.

The present experiment was designed to test for effects of passive smoking on vigilance performance as well as to determine whether smokers and non-smokers are differentially affected by exposure to passive smoking. Four groups of subjects were used--smokers and non-smokers working in either clean or smoky air--and measures of decision time, movement time, correct detections, d' and beta, were obtained together with ratings of mood. The results show that sensitivity and accuracy of both smokers and non-smokers was detrimentally affected by passive smoking, and that the onset of the effect was earlier for the non-smoking subjects than for the smoking subjects. In addition, passive smoking significantly reduced decision time for the non-smoking subjects although movement time and beta were not significantly affected by exposure to the smoky environment. The findings indicate that both smokers and non-smokers may be adversely affected by passive smoking although effects may not appear until some time has elapsed. Data obtained from the mood scale show that feelings of anger and annoyance are increased by exposure to smoke and it is suggested that these feelings may contribute to the observed performance deficits.