The Hidden Dangers of Third-Hand Smoke: Protecting Non-Smokers from Harm

2024-03-28 21:30:00

lung cancer

What’s wrong with going out and smoking? ‘This’ danger for non-smokers

Reporter Jeon Jong-bo

Photo = Clip Art Korea Many people think that smoking outside has no effect on non-smokers indoors. However, if you go indoors immediately after smoking, people inside may also experience ‘third-hand smoke’.

Primary smoking and secondary smoking refer to smoking by directly smoking a cigarette and secondhand smoking by inhaling cigarette smoke from a smoker next to you without smoking a cigarette, respectively. In contrast, third-hand smoke refers to exposure to toxic particles on the clothes or skin of a smoker who did not inhale the smoke but came in after smoking. If you come in after smoking and come into contact with toxic substances that accumulate in the form of particles on the smoker’s clothes, skin, hair, etc., the accumulated toxic substances can affect people around you.

There are actually research results related to this. After injecting clean air into a movie theater designated as a non-smoking area for 15 years and allowing both smokers and non-smokers to enter the movie theater, it was found that the concentration of tobacco-related toxic substances such as benzene, formaldehyde, and acrolein increased in the movie theater (Research team at Yale University, USA) ). Over time, the concentration of toxic substances decreased, but did not completely disappear.

Third-hand smoke is more likely to affect people who stay in the same space as smokers frequently and for a long time. Children are especially at risk. This is because their respiratory system is weaker than that of adults, and if their parents are smokers, they often come into contact with their parents’ hair and clothes. The toxic substances in cigarettes have the risk of affecting not only children’s brain development and growth, but also their respiratory and bone health.

The only way for smokers to prevent third-hand smoke from those around them is to not smoke. Toxic substances from cigarettes remain on hair, body, and clothes for a long time and do not disappear easily even when ventilated. If you want to smoke, it is best to wait at least 1 to 2 hours after smoking or immediately change the clothes you wore when smoking. Non-smokers should avoid smoking areas or contact with smokers as much as possible.

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