An article in Pediatrics has highlighted the risk to pregnant women and babies of ‘third-hand smoke’ – when the poisons in tobacco smoke remain on clothing, fabrics or hair, and are breathed in by the non-smokers. Young children are particularly at risk, because they are likely to breathe in while in close proximity to fabrics, or even lick and suck furniture and clothing.
However, fewer than half of the smokers among the 1500 people surveyed by the research, published in Pediatrics, were aware that the poisons do not disperse – and only about a quarter of smokers had strict rules about not smoking in the home.
Poisons in cigarette smoke can linger on fabrics or hair, but a survey of 1,500 households found that fewer than half of smokers knew this. ‘The dangers of third-hand smoke are very real’, according to the lead researcher, Professor Jonathan Winickoff of Massachusetts General Hospital.
Source: BBC News, 6 January 2009.