Tobacco Smoke Residue Raises Cancer Risks

Tobacco smoke residue, sometimes referred to as “thirdhand smoke,” is  embedded in clothing, home textiles such as carpets and upholstered furniture, and other porous surfaces.  Hugo Destaillats, from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (California, USA), and colleagues discovered that nicotine reacts with a common indoor air pollutant found in smoker’s homes and cars, called nitrous acid (HONO), to form carcinogenic compounds known as tobacco-specific nitrosamines (TSNAs).  TSNAs were found to persist hours after the cigarette smoke has cleared.  The team posits that the most likely human exposure to TSNA is by touching a surface that has been contaminated with tobacco smoke, such as clothing or furnishings.  Writing that: “Given the rapid sorption and persistence of high levels of nicotine on indoor surfaces—including clothing and human skin—this recently identified process represents an unappreciated health hazard through dermal exposure, dust inhalation, and ingestion. These findings raise concerns about exposures to the tobacco smoke residue that has been recently dubbed “thirdhand smoke,” the researchers urge particular caution be exercised to reduce the exposure of infants and young children to these toxins.