On May 31st of each year, WHO celebrates World No Tobacco Day, highlighting the health risks associated with tobacco use and advocating for effective policies to reduce consumption. But even if you don't light up, recent findings indicate you may be at greater risk from smoking than previously known.
The harmful effects of first and secondhand smoke are well documented, but we are still learning about the harmful effects of thirdhand smoke, the “stealth toxin” left behind on surfaces.
New research published in the American Journal of Physiology reports that smoke residue that remains long after smokers extinguish their cigarette is perhaps more harmful to young children and pregnant women than even secondhand smoke.
In the study, rats were exposed to two types of toxins present in thirdhand smoke, which is essentially aged and condensed secondhand smoke. The exposed rats had a far higher prevalence of asthma, and the effects were lifelong.
This study builds on prior studies conducted at the University of California, Berkeley, and Massachusetts General Hospital for Children in Boston.
In the Berkeley study researchers found that nicotine from thirdhand smoke reacts with nitrous acid, an indoor pollutant often found in homes with gas-burning appliances, to form potent carcinogens called tobacco-specific nitrosamines. They found that prenatal exposure to these components plays a much greater role in affecting lung function than childhood exposures.
Boston researchers found that nicotine in the residue from thirdhand smoke contains heavy metals, carcinogens and radioactive materials that children can easily absorb through their skin. Researchers found toxic residue on clothing, upholstery, carpet, and other materials.
This research means that children and pregnant women should not only limit exposure to first and second hand smoke but also places frequented by smokers. Avoiding thirdhand smoke entirely may be difficult as it lingers long after the tell-tale odor has dissipated.
Source:
American Lung Association