Tobacco-smoke residue that lingers in furniture, curtains and house dust can still be harmful
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Jacqueline Hamilton, University of York
Mice exposed to household fabrics contaminated with third-hand tobacco smoke showed changes in biological markers of health after only one month, a recent study found. After six months, the mice showed evidence of liver damage and insulin resistance, symptoms which usually precede the development of type 2 diabetes.
Each year about 600,000 people die from exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke (inhaling other people’s cigarette smoke). Once the smoke clears, after a cigarette has been extinguished, nicotine and other harmful chemicals left behind can stick to surfaces and fabrics. This residue is known as third-hand smoke.
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...
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