Association between second-hand smoke and psychological well-being amongst non-smoking wageworkers in Republic of Korea

Background Worldwide, exposure to second-hand smoke (SHS) has been responsible for more than 0.6 million deaths and 10.9 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYS) lost in never smokers in 2004. The world health organization (WHO) reported smoking-related death of 58,000 per year in South Korea. There is recent emerging evidence of the associations of SHS exposure with anxiety or depression and poor mental health. Although exposure to second-hand smoke (SHS) has been associated with various physical health conditions and mental health, we are unaware of any studies examining its association with psychological well-being as mental factor. This study aimed to investigate the association between self-reported exposure to SHS and well-being among non-smoking wageworkers.