'Third-hand smoke' may pose cancer risk
Nicotine that accumulates on indoor surfaces long after a person has put out their cigarette is converted into cancer-causing chemicals, US scientists have warned.
Researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory discovered that the nicotine in so-called 'third-hand smoke' reacts with a common indoor air pollutant called nitrous acid to form dangerous chemicals.
Lab tests using cellulose surfaces to mimic indoor materials exposed to smoke revealed that levels of carcinogenic tobacco-specific nitrosamines (TSNAs) increased by ten times after three hours of exposure to nitrous acid, which is mainly emitted by un-vented gas appliances. These included cancer-causing chemicals such as NNA, NNN and NNK.
Read the whole article at Cancer Research UK
Reference
- Sleiman, M., et al (2010). Atmospheric Chemistry Special Feature: Formation of carcinogens indoors by surface-mediated reactions of nicotine with nitrous acid, leading to potential thirdhand smoke hazards Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0912820107
Keywords: third-hand smoke, tobacco-specific nitrosamines, carcinogenic agents
16. 2. 2010 Cancer Research UK
