So, as you were saying?

According to the New York Times, a study published in the Journal of Pediatrics surveyed 1500 smokers and nonsmokers about the hazards of secondhand and thirdhand smoke. 83% of the population believed that secondhand smoke was dangerous while only 43% believed that Thirdhand smoke was dangerous. By definition, Thirdhand smoke is the residue that remains behind from cigarette combustion. This dissipated material embeds itself into the fibers and materials of one’s home (e.g. carpets, paint, drapes, clothing, etc.) Also, this micro-ash forms around other particulates to form carcinogenic dust, inhaled by children and others. Moreover, the study suggests that this invisible gas can radiate or ‘offgas’ into the environment producing an effect every bit as deadly as the original smoke particulate matter. While carbon monoxide is not one of those elements because that exits into the atmosphere, the heavier particles such as ash, arsenic and myriad other known toxins in processed cigarette tobacco can and do accumulate into domestic environments over time. The stale, noxious smell that permeates most smokers homes and clothes, it appears, is more than just foul smelling. It can actually kill you by simply allowing the off gases to permeate your skin. According to the study, one needed actually inhale the material. Contact with the eyes, mucous membranes and even the surface of the skin (hands, face, etc.) would be enough.

Jonathon Winickoff, associate professor of pediatrics at Mass General Hospital in Boston explains, “The more you smoke in closed locations, the more microlayers of these toxins build up.” Winickoff has been studying the effect of this toxic build up (“Thirdhand smoke”) and has been analyzing data on children who live in apartments and encounter Thirdhand smoke only from OTHER apartment units in their buildings. This creates a very serious health risk and problem for federal and state agencies as smokers in public housing may be contaminating the entire structures and could lead to lawsuits where the awards are greater than what we ever saw from the asbestos litigation of the past decade. If one were to consider the build up of smoking particulate matter in air ventilation systems, public housing, public structures, etc. once could imagine a huge and costly undertaking to remove the remains of what might be a lingering, silent and (until now) untraceable killer.

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	SmokeShopTalk Mass General Hosptial: Thirdhand Smoke, a mixture of ash and house /z5g (via @smokeshoptalk)
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