Word Counts: 3304 for the main text; 163 for the abstract 2 Abstracts A generalised linear model with the negative binomial distribution was used to examine the impact of bushfire smoke on respiratory hospital admissions in Brisbane, Australia from 1 July 1997 to 31 December 2000. The results of this study show that daily respiratory hospital admission rates consistently increased with increasing levels of particles of 10 microns or less in aerodynamic diameter (PM 10 ) for both bushfire and

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... -bushfire periods. This relationship appeared stronger during bushfire periods than non-bushfire periods, especially for the current day. Compared with the lower level of PM 10 (i.e. <15 ug/m 3 ), the relative risk (RR) for respiratory hospital admissions increased by 9 % and 11% for the medium level (i.e. 15-20 ug/m 3 ) and by 19% and 13% for higher level (i.e. >20 ug/m 3 ) during bushfire and non-bushfire periods, respectively. The findings suggest that bushfire smoke was associated with an increased risk of respiratory hospital admissions in Brisbane. The health impact assessment needs to be considered in the control and management of bushfires. Running Title: Bushfire smoke and respiratory hospital admissions