Thirdhand Smoke Damages DNA

While tobacco smoking is largely accepted as a significant source of primary indoor air pollutants, it is only recently that thirdhand smoke — the invisible remains of cigarette smoke that deposit on carpeting, clothing, furniture and other surfaces – has become  recognized as a contributor to indoor pollution.  . Previous studies have shown that that nicotine in thirdhand smoke can react with the ozone in indoor air and surfaces like clothing and furniture, to form other pollutants. Lara Gundel, from Berkeley Lab (California, USA), and colleagues report that thirdhand smoke may be a major cause of significant genetic damage in human cells. Further, the team warns that chronic exposure is worse than acute exposure, with the chemical compounds in samples exposed to chronic thirdhand smoke existing in higher concentrations and causing more DNA damage than samples exposed to acute thirdhand smoke, suggesting that the residue becomes more harmful over time.  Writing that: “[Thirdhand smoke] exposure is related to increased oxidative stress and could be an important contributing factor in [thirdhand smoke] -mediated toxicity,” the study authors submit that: “The findings of this study demonstrate for the first time that exposure to [thirdhand smoke] is genotoxic in human cell lines.”