Physicists revealed the best spot to stand in enclosed smoking areas.

Smoking rooms in airports remain a common sight, although some countries are gradually phasing them out. Typically, these are enclosed spaces with transparent walls located inside the building. They may have ventilation systems, but this does not always shield smokers from the effects of smoke in a confined area.

A team of physicists has demonstrated that not all positions within a smoking room are equal in terms of smoke distribution for the individuals present. The study was published in the journal Physics of Fluids.

Scientists from Hormozgan University (Iran) analyzed the distribution of nicotine particles in a simulated smoking room and discovered that the thermal environment and the positioning of smokers influence the settling of particles from the smoke.

The authors of the study modeled a smoking room using computational models. The smokers were represented by heated and unheated mannequins holding cigarettes, "exhaling" smoke forward. The ventilation system in the model featured three exhaust diffusers.

It turned out that smokers located farther from the ventilation outlets experienced the least particle pollution from the smoke.

"We expected that individuals standing in all corners would experience roughly the same particle settling. However, according to the data obtained, the ventilation flows in the room behave unpredictably," noted Younes Bakhshan (Younes Bakhshan).

The research also revealed that over time, the concentration of particles in the air decreases, but their settling on the smokers themselves increases.

"The results of the study made it clear that body heat contributes to greater settling of pollutants on the body. We recommend that people choose free spots if they must smoke in the room," added Bakhshan.

These findings help to understand how to improve ventilation in smoking lounges. According to previous studies, a ventilation system that displaces air from the smoking room is optimal. However, if there is an opportunity to optimize ventilation, physicists recommend installing exhausts on the walls, in addition to the existing ventilation outlets in the ceiling. Smokers are advised to stand as far away from the ventilation outlets as possible and not to warm up before entering the room.

In the future, physicists plan to study not only the distribution of particles but also their reduction. Researchers believe that individuals who enter the smoking room should be protected from the harmful effects of passive smoking.