People can carry hazardous compounds from cigarette smoke that cling to their bodies and clothes and then release those compounds into non-smoking environments — exposing people nearby to cigarettes’ adverse effects, a new study shows.
People can carry hazardous compounds from cigarette smoke that cling to their bodies and clothes and then release those compounds into non-smoking environments — exposing people nearby to cigarettes’ adverse effects, a new study shows.
For the last decade, third-hand smoke has been described as the residual contamination from cigarette smoking that adheres to walls and other surfaces in places where smoking has previously occurred. For example, hotels and rental car companies have implemented smoking restrictions to limit this contaminating odor from their rooms and cars.
A team of researchers led by Yale’s Drew Gentner shows for the first time that this third-hand smoke can travel in large quantities into indoor, non-smoking environments by way of humans. The research suggests that even if someone is in a room where no one has smoked, that person could still be exposed to many of the hazardous chemical compounds that make up cigarette smoke, depending on who else had entered the room or previously visited it. The results were published March 4 in Science Advances.
Read more at Yale University
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