The testing of 48 bar and restaurant workers by the New York Department of Health shows an 85-percent drop in cotinine levels among nonsmokers. Cotinine is a nicotine byproduct that is found in the body fluids of people who have inhaled tobacco smoke. Researchers use it to determine a person's exposure to 60 other known cancer-causing chemicals found in cigarette and cigar smoke.

"The implications of that are if you work in a bar you are now less likely to have an asthmatic attack, have colds and respiratory problems, ear infections, less likely to be exposed to carcinogens," said Dr. K. Michael Cummings, an administrator at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo. "A person would feel different. Their eyes won't water as much. They're not as stuffy when they finish work."

The saliva testing is the first study conducted to determine the effectiveness of the smoking ban. The Health Department is conducting several other studies to measure the smoking ban's impact on workers' health.

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