Smoking dramatically raises PM2.5 pollutants indoors, an experiment conducted by the office of the Shanghai Health Promotion Commission showed yesterday.

Smoking dramatically raises PM2.5 pollutants indoors. [File photo]

PM2.5 is a measure of small particulate matter of 2.5 microns or less in diameter. One cigarette can raise the PM2.5 density by five times, two cigarettes by 10 times and three cigarettes by over 18 times. Measurements were taken once the cigarettes were completely smoked.

Putting two lit cigarettes near the PM2.5 monitoring machine results in a density 28 times of the original level.

Tang Qiong from the office said the experiment is mainly to collect data for public education on indoor smoking.

"We will use the PM2.5 monitoring machine for more tests in public venues to tell the public how smoking can harm people's health," she said.

Tang said the commission is working on a survey to back a complete ban on indoor smoking. The city's smoking control law bans smoking in only 13 types of public venues like kindergartens and Internet cafes.

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• Smoking increases pollution: study
• Shanghai looks to control public smoking

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