Some odors seem to permeate everything they touch, and tobacco smoke is one of the worst, but in addition to the smell, the smoke leaves toxic substances in the places where it was smoked.
Secondhand smoke is the smoke inhaled by non-smokers who are exposed to other people’s tobacco smoke. But you can go further: Third-hand smoke refers to residual nicotine and other dangerous chemicals that contaminate the air in an enclosed space after someone has smoked there. This is what happens when, despite the express ban, someone smokes inside a rental car for minutes.
Scientists at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in the US first identified third-hand smoke as a potential health risk ten years ago. Now, in your last studyfound that concentrations of toxic chemicals that persist in indoor environments where cigarettes have been smoked can exceed safe levels, meaning that non-smokers may be exposed to health risks by occupying spaces contaminated by cigarette residues. skin by inhaling or swallowing the powder.
Researchers have previously found that aerosolized nicotine, released by smoke and vapor, adheres to enclosure surfaces, where it can interact with nitrous acid in the air to form strongly carcinogenic compounds called tobacco-specific nitrosamines (TSNAs). Nicotine accumulated on home surfaces can continually generate high levels of TSNA long after the smoke has cleared the room.
TSNAs enter the body through several pathways. The study estimated inhalation and dust ingestion doses using internal TSNA concentrations and dermal exposures, which are more difficult to measure and for which there is much less information. These dermal exposures can occur directly from skin contact with contaminated air or a contaminated surface harboring TSNA, for example, sleeping on sheets with traces of smoke. They can also occur through epidermal chemistry, when nicotine bound to the skin reacts with ambient nitrous oxide to form TSNA on the surface of the body.
The study found that exposure through all of these pathways (inhalation, dust ingestion, and dermal absorption) under typical indoor conditions can result in TSNA doses exceeding health limits. These cumulative exposures over time can contribute to an increased risk of cancer.
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