Third-Hand Smoke?
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A recent study on the harmful effects of tobacco has now identified a new danger, “third-hand smoke.” The research indicates that residue left on surfaces by burning tobacco can react with a chemical frequently found in the air and form into a cocktail of dangerous carcinogens. The harmful film can cover everything in the immediate area — carpets, walls, furniture, clothes, and even skin. It can be particularly damaging for children who breathe more dust for their body weight than adults. The residue can even become more dangerous over time, according to Traci Watson, Aol. news.
Tobacco is still the number one killer in our nation. But as Peter Jennings reveals in this examination of the “tobacco wars,” the responsibility lies not only with tobacco companies but also with the government and prominent public health advocates who squandered an historic opportunity to settle with the industry, regulate tobacco, and save millions of lives.
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I “shelved” my mother into assisted living three months ago. She had fallen in her condo where
I looked after her two or three times a day. One of my duties – as a sixty two year old man – was to buy her a carton of cigarettes every five days. Here in SoCal that’s about two hundred and fifty bucks a month. My wife and I stopped smoking in our mid-twenties, before our daughter was born. Mom was no quitter, dammit! She had lived in California nine years, moving from Colorado when she was eighty to be closer to our family. In fact, just a few blocks from where our home is. She smoked and she smoked, just like when I was a kid – except then she smoked in tandem with my step-father. Yeah, I’m an expert on smoke residue – everyone knew when I had been at “Gigi’s,” my grandson’s name for his great-grandmother. I took all that away from her when I moved her. It was the patch for her – and no smoking! She caused enough problems with her habit and the forced intake of her toxins. Maybe too much info – Tom Medlicott
Well, with this new danger, it seems that the actual smoker, who is subject to first hand smoke, second hand smoke, and third hand smoke….will be dead by the end of the day