Discussion
UPLC-MS/MS is an appealing alternative to the GC assays due to the fact that sample preparation may be more straightforward than in GC–MS techniques [29] and because the UPLC separation method is more rapid than the GC method [14]. The UPLC–MS method presented for determination of nicotine concentrations in air is simple and rapid. The method validation gave the following values: 4.6% RSD precision and 8.0% RSD for accuracy. These results are comparable with the published LC methods for quantification of nicotine (and cotinine) although these analytical procedures were used for quantification of these compounds in serum [27] or urine [28].
This study shows that tobacco smoke is present in all public places examined from Timisoara. The study also demonstrated that in buildings where smoking is not allowed, levels of nicotine in the air are lower than in places where smoking is permitted but they are not zero. This implies that policies of having both smoking and non-smoking places are not entirely useful.
The nicotine concentrations found in pubs and restaurants where the smoking was permitted are very high. For someone who spent his time in such a place for 4–5 hours is equivalent to living with a smoker for one month. Similar results were mentioned by Nebot [30] and Hammond [31]. Comparing the results published by other studies, the concentrations of nicotine from Romanian pubs and restaurants where the smoking is allowed were higher than the majority of other public places [30,32-35], indication that either the law should not permit the smoking in any public place or these locations should have better ventilation systems.