HWN Suggests

Third-hand smoke is no joke, can convey hazardous chemicals

People can carry hazardous compounds from cigarette smoke that cling to their bodies and clothes and then release those compounds into non-smoking environments — exposing people nearby to cigarettes’ adverse effects, a new study shows. For the last decade, third-hand smoke has been described as the residual contamination from cigarette smoking that adheres to walls and other surfaces in places where smoking has previously occurred. For example, hotels and rental car companies have implemented smoking restrictions to limit this contaminating odor from their rooms and cars.

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Featured

 New Smoke Alarm

Unlike secondhand smoke, which is what nonsmokers breathe in when they’re near someone who is puffing away, thirdhand smoke can be inhaled long after the cigarette has been stamped out. Scientists are just starting to study this residual smoke, but so far the evidence is sobering.

 This Is Why You Don't Want to Move In After a Smoker

When you move into a new place, you probably know very little about your home's former occupants other than their penchant for hard-to-remove wallpaper. But new research has found that not knowing about former tenant's smoking habits could be a serious health issue. A study published in the journal Nicotine & Tobacco Research discovered that third-hand smoke residue can accumulate in homes and apartments, affecting people even when there is no longer active smoking happening in the space. Third-hand smoke is composed of residual nicotine and other chemicals from tobacco smoke that stick to indoor surfaces.

Articles of Interest

Thirdhand Smoke Fact Sheet

While the public health impacts of smoking and secondhand smoke exposure are well documented, the concept of thirdhand smoke (THS) is a relatively new area of study in public health. THS is tobacco smoke residue that remains in indoor environments, reacts with air to make additional pollutants, and re-emits from surfaces back into the air. It is a distinct public health problem.

A New Cigarette Hazard: ‘Third-Hand Smoke’

That’s the term being used to describe the invisible yet toxic brew of gases and particles clinging to smokers’ hair and clothing, not to mention cushions and carpeting, that lingers long after second-hand smoke has cleared from a room. The residue includes heavy metals, carcinogens and even radioactive materials that young children can get on their hands and ingest, especially if they’re crawling or playing on the floor.

'Thirdhand' smoke a health risk in cinemas, say researchers

Hazardous chemicals could be carried on clothing and bodies of audience, study suggests.

A new worry for smokers’ families: ‘thirdhand smoke’

Children face a higher risk of developing health complications from thirdhand smoke than adults. Infants tend to spend more time indoors and can be surrounded by contaminated objects like rugs and blankets, according to a 2004 study written by Georg Matt, a professor of psychology at San Diego State University who co-authored the study and has researched thirdhand smoke. An infant’s propensity to place their hands in their mouth increases the likelihood of the young ingesting the toxic residue.

Is Third-Hand Smoke A Hazard?

Some scientists say toxins from cigarette smoke can cling to furniture and clothing after the smoke wafts away, possibly posing a danger to infants and children. Jonathan Winickoff discusses his new paper on the public's perception of the risk of third-hand smoke.

Scientists Search For Toxins In Cigarette Smoke Residue

Everybody knows smoking is hazardous. Being around someone who smokes isn't such a good idea either. "There's no safe amount of secondhand smoke," the surgeon general has said. Now thirdhand smoke is getting scrutiny. What's thirdhand smoke? It's the residue from smoke that settles onto clothes, hair, furniture or anything else in a smoker's vicinity. These chemicals can react with others in the air or on surfaces to create even more potentially hazardous substances. "Thirdhand smoke can grow more toxic over time," says Bo Hang, a scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

The Hidden Risks of Thirdhand Smoke

The team reports finding the tobacco-specific nitrosamine NNK on surfaces in nearly half of the homes tested in the study. The team also found nicotine on the same surface and dust samples. Detectable NNK levels were found, as expected, in homes where indoor smoking had been allowed. But residues also were found in homes with indoor smoking bans, indicating that NNK can be a persistent third-hand smoke pollutant.

Third-Hand Smoke Is Dangerous, Too

The harmful effects of second-hand smoke have been well researched and documented, but what about third-hand smoke? Traces of nicotine linger on clothes, skin and surfaces for hours (or even days) after the smoker has extinguished her cigarette, and they have the potential to harm other people.

Thirdhand Smoke Is Real—And Risky to Your Health

Indoor cigarette smoke combines with air pollutants to form compounds that might cause cancer—and that can linger for decades.

Thirdhand Smoke: A Lingering Threat

You undoubtedly know about secondhand tobacco smoke, even though there is less of it these days because fewer people smoke in public. But do you know what thirdhand smoke is?

Thirdhand Smoke: New Evidence, Challenges, and Future Directions

Thirdhand smoke (THS) is the contamination that persists after secondhand tobacco smoke has been emitted into air. It refers to the tobacco-related gases and particles that become embedded in materials, such as the carpet, walls, furniture, blankets, and toys. THS is not strictly smoke, but chemicals that adhere to surfaces from which they can be released back into the air, undergo chemical transformations and/or accumulate. Currently, the hazards of THS are not as well documented as the hazards of secondhand smoke (SHS).

Thirdhand Smoke: State of the Science and a Call for Policy Expansion

Thirdhand smoke (THS) is the persistent residue generated from aged secondhand smoke (SHS) that adheres to indoor dust and surfaces and reemits into the air, which is of concern as a public health hazard. Despite the recent emergence of THS research findings (compared with 40 years of SHS research), available evidence supports making greater attempts to eliminate THS from public places and private residences/cars.

Tobacco Smoke Residue Can Become Airborne Again Indoors

You might be breathing chemical residue from tobacco smoke in indoor spaces where no one has smoked for years. This was the surprise finding of a new study published Wednesday in the journal Science Advances. Researchers at Drexel University in Philadelphia found that chemicals left on clothing, furniture and other surfaces by tobacco smoke – known as thirdhand smoke — can become airborne and travel through a building's ventilation system.

Tobacco-smoke residue that lingers in furniture, curtains and house dust can still be harmful

The idea of third-hand smoke has been around for a few decades, but came to prominence in 2009 after a study by Jonathan Winickoff, an assistant professor of paediatrics at Harvard Medical School, identified a link between parents’ belief that third-hand smoke may cause harm and the likelihood they would prohibit smoking within their home. There is growing evidence that third-hand smoke contamination is extensive and can linger for extended periods. Non-smokers can be exposed to third-hand smoke from breathing residual gases, touching surfaces and swallowing dust. Chemical reactions of nicotine stuck to surfaces can lead to an increase in the amount of carcinogenic chemicals over time.

Your Nose Knows: The Invisible Threat of 'Thirdhand Smoke'

While people are less likely to be affected by these thirdhand toxins than by the more widely recognized first- and secondhand smoking, Timo Hammer of the Hohemstein Institute for Textile Innovation in Germany suggested that touching contaminated surfaces and ingesting dust can still be hazardous, especially if that exposure extends over a period of time. At particular risk are children and people with compromised heart, respiratory or immune systems.