There are many who smoke inside their homes and cars. Some take precaution not to smoke when their spouse and children are around to not expose them to secondhand or passive smoke. They might think that once the smoke is cleared, the indoor space is fine and safe. Bachelor apartments on the other hand, where the inmates smoke, often carry a strong smoke stench even long after cigarettes have been put off. There are many others, who regularly use their bathrooms for smoking. These apart, closed smoking environs like bars, pubs, and coffee shops are spaces where cigarette smoke can hover around. Can cigarette smoke harm even after the smoke is extinguished, say several hours later or even days and weeks after?
Findings by the scientists at the Berkeley Lab, as part of the study under a research agenda developed by the California Consortium on Thirdhand Smoke, can tell us more on this. Their findings follow a published work on "Formation of carcinogens indoors by surface-mediated reactions of nicotine with nitrous acid, leading to potential thirdhand smoke hazards (2010)," by authors Destaillats, Gundel, Sleiman, and others.
According to their findings, thirdhand smoke is found to carry carcinogenic TSNAs (Tobacco-Specific Nitrosamines). They get formed when nicotine released by cigarette smoke interacts with gaseous nitrous acid and nitrous oxide in the indoor surrounding. Each time a person smokes within an enclosed area, like say a car or an apartment, a layer of nicotine gets deposited in the inner walls and objects of the enclosed space. Say if it's a bathroom, added layers of nicotine particles can get deposited on top of tiles, taps, and other fixtures, over a period of time. If it's in a study room or living room, particles of nicotine could get deposited as dust on walls, carpets, and curtains. And when someone smokes within an enclosed setting, nicotine also get absorbed in the clothes and the particles could stay over the hands and hairs, well after the session of smoke.
The presence of nitrous oxide, which is said to be higher in an indoor surrounding, due to internal combustion in household appliances, combines with deposited nicotine particles to form Tobacco-Specific Nitrosamines. A number of experiments have revealed startling levels of Nitrosamines within cars, trucks, and apartments, where smoking has been prevalent. These carcinogenic toxic deposits can linger around for days, weeks and months together. And exposure to them by way of skin contact or inhalation when they get desorbed as gasses poses the threat of carcinogenic toxins entering the body. Children can get easily exposed to them as they tend to place their hands everywhere and unknowingly put them in their mouth. And due to their proximity to the ground, they also tend to inhale more of nicotine dust and toxic TSNAs. In the same way, pets too. Women, on the other hand, can get exposed to these toxic specks of dust from their spouses as nicotine deposits over hair, skin, and clothing may persist unless washed off thoroughly.
Thirdhand smoke thus poses a very serious threat to both smokers and nonsmokers, and children, in particular. Even pets too face a higher exposure risk. Smoking within an enclosed area and habitual smoking within the same area mean objects within the space are unsafe for contact and the air within the space is unsafe for breathing. It remains a zone of nicotine and nitrosamine contamination. If you are someone smoking indoors, watch out, you may be putting the health of your spouse, children and pets at risk.
References:
Findings by the scientists at the Berkeley Lab, as part of the study under a research agenda developed by the California Consortium on Thirdhand Smoke, can tell us more on this. Their findings follow a published work on "Formation of carcinogens indoors by surface-mediated reactions of nicotine with nitrous acid, leading to potential thirdhand smoke hazards (2010)," by authors Destaillats, Gundel, Sleiman, and others.
According to their findings, thirdhand smoke is found to carry carcinogenic TSNAs (Tobacco-Specific Nitrosamines). They get formed when nicotine released by cigarette smoke interacts with gaseous nitrous acid and nitrous oxide in the indoor surrounding. Each time a person smokes within an enclosed area, like say a car or an apartment, a layer of nicotine gets deposited in the inner walls and objects of the enclosed space. Say if it's a bathroom, added layers of nicotine particles can get deposited on top of tiles, taps, and other fixtures, over a period of time. If it's in a study room or living room, particles of nicotine could get deposited as dust on walls, carpets, and curtains. And when someone smokes within an enclosed setting, nicotine also get absorbed in the clothes and the particles could stay over the hands and hairs, well after the session of smoke.
The presence of nitrous oxide, which is said to be higher in an indoor surrounding, due to internal combustion in household appliances, combines with deposited nicotine particles to form Tobacco-Specific Nitrosamines. A number of experiments have revealed startling levels of Nitrosamines within cars, trucks, and apartments, where smoking has been prevalent. These carcinogenic toxic deposits can linger around for days, weeks and months together. And exposure to them by way of skin contact or inhalation when they get desorbed as gasses poses the threat of carcinogenic toxins entering the body. Children can get easily exposed to them as they tend to place their hands everywhere and unknowingly put them in their mouth. And due to their proximity to the ground, they also tend to inhale more of nicotine dust and toxic TSNAs. In the same way, pets too. Women, on the other hand, can get exposed to these toxic specks of dust from their spouses as nicotine deposits over hair, skin, and clothing may persist unless washed off thoroughly.
Thirdhand smoke thus poses a very serious threat to both smokers and nonsmokers, and children, in particular. Even pets too face a higher exposure risk. Smoking within an enclosed area and habitual smoking within the same area mean objects within the space are unsafe for contact and the air within the space is unsafe for breathing. It remains a zone of nicotine and nitrosamine contamination. If you are someone smoking indoors, watch out, you may be putting the health of your spouse, children and pets at risk.
References:
- http://newscenter.lbl.gov/2014/11/03/thirdhand-smoke-toxic-airborne-pollutants-linger-long-after-the-smoke-clears/
- http://www.livescience.com/37647-thirdhand-smoke-damages-dna.html
- https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-is-third-hand-smoke/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3230406/
- http://www.pnas.org/content/107/15/6576.long
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third-hand_smoke