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

For the last decade, third-hand smoke has been described as the residual contamination from cigarette smoking that adheres to walls and ... Skiptomaincontent Third-handsmokeisnojoke,canconveyhazardouschemicalsByWilliamWeirMarch4,2020 SharethiswithFacebook SharethiswithTwitter SharethiswithLinkedIn SharethiswithEmail Printthis (IllustrationbyMichaelS.Helfenbein) Peoplecancarryhazardouscompoundsfromcigarettesmokethatclingtotheirbodiesandclothesandthenreleasethosecompoundsintonon-smokingenvironments—exposingpeoplenearbytocigarettes’adverseeffects,anewstudyshows. Forthelastdecade,third-handsmokehasbeendescribedastheresidualcontaminationfromcigarettesmokingthatadherestowallsandothersurfacesinplaceswheresmokinghaspreviouslyoccurred.Forexample,hotelsandrentalcarcompanieshaveimplementedsmokingrestrictionstolimitthiscontaminatingodorfromtheirroomsandcars. AteamofresearchersledbyYale’sDrewGentnershowsforthefirsttimethatthisthird-handsmokecantravelinlargequantitiesintoindoor,non-smokingenvironmentsbywayofhumans.Theresearchsuggeststhatevenifsomeoneisinaroomwherenoonehassmoked,thatpersoncouldstillbeexposedtomanyofthehazardouschemicalcompoundsthatmakeupcigarettesmoke,dependingonwhoelsehadenteredtheroomorpreviouslyvisitedit.TheresultswerepublishedMarch4inScienceAdvances. Theideathatsomeoneisprotectedfromtheeffectsofcigarettesmokebecausethey’renotdirectlyexposedtosecond-handsmokeisnotthecase.DrewGentner“Inreal-worldconditions,weseeconcentratedemissionsofhazardousgasescomingfromgroupsofpeoplewhowerepreviouslyexposedtotobaccosmokeastheyenteranon-smokinglocationwithstrictregulationsagainstindoorsmoking,”saidGentner,associateprofessorofchemical&environmentalengineering.“Peoplearesubstantialcarriersofthird-handsmokecontaminantstootherenvironments.So,theideathatsomeoneisprotectedfromthepotentialhealtheffectsofcigarettesmokebecausethey’renotdirectlyexposedtosecond-handsmokeisnotthecase.”  Theresearchersbroughthighlysensitiveanalyticalinstrumentationintoamovietheatertotrackthousandsofcompounds,presentaseithergasesorparticles,overthecourseofaweek.Adiverserangeofvolatileorganiccompoundsfoundintobaccosmokespikeddramaticallywhencertainaudiencesarrivedforthemovies.TheseincreaseswereminorforG-ratedmovies,whileaudiencesforR-ratedmovies—whichincludedmoviegoersmorelikelytosmokeortobeexposedtosmoke—consistentlyreleasedmuchlargerquantitiesofthesecompoundsintothetheater.Therelativeproportionsoftheseemittedcompoundsconfirmedthattheywerefromslightlyagedcigarettesmoke. “Despiteregulationspreventingpeoplefromsmokingindoors,nearentryways,andnearairintakes,hazardouschemicalsfromcigarettesmokearestillmakingtheirwayindoors,”saidRogerSheu,aPh.D.studentinGentner’slabandleadauthorofthestudy.   Theamountofthesehazardousandreactivegaseswasn’ttrivial,theresearcherssaid.Thegasemissionswereequaltothatofbeingexposedto1-10cigarettesofsecondhandsmokeinaone-hourperiod.Theseemissionsandairconcentrationspeakeduponaudiencearrivalanddecreasedovertime,butnotcompletely,evenwhentheaudiencesleft.Inmanycases,themovie-goersleftapersistentcontaminationobservablethefollowingdaysintheunoccupiedtheater.Theresearcherssaidthatisbecausethechemicalsdon’tremainentirelyintheair,butarealsoadsorbedontovarioussurfacesandfurnishings,justasitdoeswiththird-handsmokecontaminationinplaceswheresmokinghasoccurred.   Theresearchersalsofoundapredominanceofnitrogen-containingcompoundsfromcigarettes,whichwouldhavemigratedfrompeopletootherindoorsurfaces.  “Inparticular,wenoticedthatnicotinewasthemostprominentcompoundbyfar,”saidco-authorJennaDitto,aPh.D.studentinGentner’slab. Theresearcherssaidtheseresultsonhumantransportofthird-handsmokenowhelptoexplainwhypreviousstudieshadfoundnotablequantitiesofnicotineonsurfacesinnumerousnon-smokingenvironments.  Theresearchersemphasizedthatavoidingmovietheatersisnotthesolutiontoavoidingthird-handsmoke.Infact,thetheaterusedforthestudyismodern,large,andwell-ventilated,whichreducedtheeffectoftheemissionsonconcentrationsofhazardouscompoundsintheroom.Inlesswell-ventilatedspaces—suchaspublictransit,bars,offices,andhomes—similarthird-handsmokeemissionswouldlikelyresultinconsiderablyhigherconcentrationsofmanyofthesecompounds. OtherauthorsofthestudyareJonathanWilliams,ChristofStönner,andThomasKlüpfeloftheMaxPlanckInstituteforChemistry. Video:Anewlookatthird-handsmoke Health&Medicine SharethiswithFacebook SharethiswithTwitter SharethiswithLinkedIn SharethiswithEmail Printthis MediaContactFredMamoun:[email protected],203-436-2643