Third-hand tobacco smoke, i.e. invisible residues deposited on carpets, clothes, furniture and other surfaces, may be more harmful to health than generally thought, according to an Israeli study.
Scientists from the Israeli Institute of Technology in Haifa have observed that nicotine deposited on objects around us can react with ozone present in the air in the room and create so-called health-damaging. secondary organic aerosols (i.e. airborne droplets or solid particles).
For example, children crawling on the carpet, people napping on the sofa or eating food contaminated with third-hand smoke may be exposed to these substances.
Considering the toxicity of some of these substances and the fact that small particles can have negative health effects, our research indicates that exposure to third-hand cigarette smoke may pose an additional health risk, the researchers wrote in the journal Environmental Science & Technology.
Tobacco smoke contains as many as 4800 different compounds, of which several dozen are toxic and carcinogenic. Nobody now has any doubts that smoking – active or passive – harms the human body. However, tobacco smoke from the so-called third-hand has only recently been investigated as a potential health risk.
Researchers in Israel analyzed the interactions that take place between nicotine and air components on various types of surfaces usually found in our homes.
It turned out that the number and size of secondary aerosols formed in the reactions of nicotine with ozone depended on the relative air humidity and the type of surface. Most of the secondary aerosols were formed in dry air on cellulose (a component of wooden furniture). At high humidity, much less of them formed, and they did not form at all on the paper. (PAP)