ATLANTA - The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) published an addendum to ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 62-2001, Ventilation for Acceptable Indoor Air Quality, which contains a nonmandatory appendix that contains a method for ventilating spaces where smoking takes place. Its purpose, according to ASHRAE, is to achieve comfort and not to address health effects.

Issues surrounding the ventilation of smoking spaces will be addressed in a seminar at the ASHRAE 2004 Winter Meeting, Jan. 24-28, in Anaheim, Calif.

"Standard 62's Comfort-Only Approach to Smoking Spaces" will be held from 10:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m., Jan. 27, and is sponsored by ASHRAE's technical committee on ventilation requirements and infiltration. Speakers will discuss limitations of this method in providing comfort and the magnitude of health risks that can be anticipated in spaces designed according to it.