Kajian mendapati bukan sahaja asap rokok pasif amat
berbahaya kepada kanak-kanak terutamanya bayi, malahan bau asap rokok yang
melekat pada baju perokok atau mereka yang berada di kawasan merokok juga amat
berbahaya kepada kanak-kanak terutamanya bayi. Oleh itu jauhkan pakaian yang
berbau rokok dari anak-anak serta bayi anda. Risiko ini dipanggil “Thirdhand
Smoke”
Thirdhand Smoke: Growing Awareness of Health Hazard
We know that smoking and secondhand smoke exposure are
harmful, but what about "thirdhand smoke"? This is a relatively new
term used to describe the residual contamination from tobacco smoke that lingers
in rooms long after smoking stops and remains on our clothes after we leave a
smoky place. It may seem merely like an offensive smell, but it is also
indicative of the presence of tobacco toxins.
Thirdhand smoke consists of the tobacco residue from cigarettes,
cigars, and other tobacco products that is left behind after smoking and builds
up on surfaces and furnishings. Tobacco smoke is composed of numerous types of
gasses and particulate matter, including carcinogens and heavy metals, like
arsenic, lead, and cyanide. Sticky, highly toxic particulates, like nicotine,
can cling to walls and ceilings. Gases can be absorbed into carpets, draperies,
and other upholsteries. A 2002 study found that these toxic brews can then
reemit back into the air and recombine to form harmful compounds that remain at
high levels long after smoking has stopped occurring.
There is a growing body of evidence that this lingering
tobacco residue has significant health risks. People, especially children and
hospitality industry workers, can have considerable exposure to it. As
confirmed by the 2006 Surgeon General's Report, there is no safe level of
exposure to tobacco smoke. And tobacco smoke toxins remain harmful even when
breathed or ingested after the active smoking ends.
A study published in February 2010 found that thirdhand
smoke causes the formation of carcinogens. The nicotine in tobacco smoke reacts
with nitrous acid - a common component of indoor air - to form the hazardous
carcinogens. Nicotine remains on surfaces for days and weeks, so the
carcinogens continue to be created over time, which are then inhaled, absorbed
or ingested.
Children of smokers are especially at risk of thirdhand
smoke exposure and contamination because tobacco residue is noticeably present
in dust throughout places where smoking has occurred. The homes, hair, clothes,
and cars of smokers can have significant levels of thirdhand smoke
contamination. Young children are particularly vulnerable, because they can
ingest tobacco residue by putting their hands in their mouths after touching
contaminated surfaces.
Awareness about thirdhand smoke is increasing, and it gained
a great deal of attention in January 2009 when the journal Pediatrics published
a study assessing people's beliefs about the health effects of thirdhand smoke
and children's level of exposure to it. However, the report found there is much
less awareness about thirdhand smoke exposure and its harm to children than
there is awareness about the dangers of secondhand smoke.
The growing understanding of thirdhand smoke contamination
reaffirms the need for more smokefree places and for avoiding exemptions in
smokefree laws that permit smoking at private events in public places or in
businesses during late evening hours; these kinds of provisions do not protect
people's health.
Parents, landlords, business owners and others need to be
aware of the health risks of exposure to thirdhand smoke and recognize that
eliminating smoking is the only way to protect against tobacco's smoke
contamination.
Study: Third-hand smoke can endanger unborn babies
News 10NBC - April 22, 2011
A new study finds just traces of cigarette smoke left on
furniture and clothing can endanger the lungs of unborn babies. These lingering
toxins from tobacco are called third-hand smoke which researchers say can be
just as harmful as secondhand or even ...
'Thirdhand smoke' leaves long-lasting toxins
abc7.com - April 21, 2011
With a young child at home, Chien is well aware of the
health risks of smoking, but he's shocked about another danger that's hidden.
Scientists call it "thirdhand smoke." "From what I hear so far,
thirdhand smoke could be just as devastating to you as ...
Babies who sleep with smoker parents exhibit high nicotine
levels
ScienceBlog.com (blog) - March 29, 2011
"Third-hand smoke" stuck to skin or clothing is
responsible for the high nicotine levels seen in babies who share a bedroom
with their smoker parents. This is the conclusion of a study carried out in Catalonia, which also
shows that ventilating bedrooms is not effective in reducing the levels of
toxins from passive smoking ...
Third-hand smoke is dangerous, especially for crawling
babies
TheMedGuru - Neelam Goswami - January 13, 2011
The hazardous effects of cigarette smoking on the human body
are well known. Even it is well documented that longtime exposure to secondhand
smoke can harm human health in many ways.
The invisible remains of cigarette smoke that deposit on
carpeting, clothing, furniture, and other surfaces are called third-hand
smoking.
'Thirdhand Smoke' a Lingering Problem
JoinTogether.org - January 5, 2011
A new study found the chemical by-products of tobacco smoke
cling to the air and surfaces of smokers' homes long after they've moved out,
msnbc.com reported Dec. 16.
Researchers at San
Diego State University led by psychology professor
Georg Matt, Ph.D., analyzed the homes of 100 smokers and 50 nonsmokers for
chemical smoking residue just before the residents completed a planned move.
Two months later, they re-measured air and surface nicotine in the homes that
had been rented or sold to nonsmokers, and checked the fingerprints of the new
residents for nicotine.
They also analyzed urine samples of the youngest new
inhabitants for cotinine, a nicotine metabolite.
