It is well known that Newark has an abundance of health problems, such as gun violence, diseases associated with poverty, illicit drug use, and so forth. Another danger to the health of Newark residents is third-hand smoke (THS).
The well-known adverse health effects of second-hand smoke (i.e. the tobacco smoke emitted by smokers while they are smoking, and inhaled by those in direct or indirect contact to the smoke) have received much attention and action. For example, smoking is banned in many public places and in the workplace to protect the health of non-smokers.
So then, what is third-hand smoke? Dr. Jonathan Winickoff, a pediatrician at the Dana–Farber/Harvard Cancer Center in Boston, and associate professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, authored a study on a tobacco-related phenomenon published in the journal Pediatrics (in 2009) that he called third hand smoke. He defined third-hand smoke as “tobacco smoke contamination that remains after the cigarette has been extinguished." In his landmark study, Dr. Winickoff states that third-hand smoke contains a “cocktail of toxins that linger in carpets, sofas, clothes and other materials hours or even days after a cigarette is put out.” Researchers found that third-hand smoke can be found in the dust and walls of any place exposed to tobacco smoke. Even freshly painted walls cannot cover the toxins and the chemical reactions produced by tobacco smoke. (See www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm).
Stanton Glantz, director of the Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education at the University of California, San Francisco stated, "The level of toxicity in cigarette smoke is just astronomical when compared to other environmental toxins such as particles found in automobile exhaust." The National Institute of Health, in an article titled “Does the Smoke Ever Really Clear? Thirdhand Smoke Exposure Raises New Concerns” -February 1, 2011. (See www.ehp03.niehs.nih.gov/article/fetchArticle.action;jsessionid.) Mohamad Sleiman, a chemist with the Indoor Environment Department of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) Environmental Energy Technologies Division, and colleagues reported that nicotine is adsorbed on various surfaces and reacts chemically to produce known cancer causing agents such as nitrosamines.
A 2006 report by the Surgeon General points out that third-hand smoke contains over 250 poisons. In fact, the report states unequivically that “there is no risk-free level of tobacco exposure.” One of the many toxins found in third-hand smoke is lead, known to be dangerous, particularly to young children. The most dangerous poisons are cyanide, a chemical used in chemical warfare, and arsenic, a chemical used to kill rats.
Because third-hand smoke is widespread and its presence is long-lasting, experts believe that the most practical way to eliminate it, is by educating smokers about the harm they cause themselves and others. In this respect, third-hand smoke is a public health issue that can be controlled by encouraging people to stop smoking.
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