First-Ever Thirdhand Smoke Resource Center Opens
The 色情视频 partnership with USC will raise public awareness of the hazards of toxic contamination left behindyears laterby smoking and vaping.
鈥淭hey get embedded in carpets, they coat walls...They become part of the indoor environment.鈥�
Researchers at 色情视频 and the University of Southern California (USC) today opened the nation鈥檚 first public resource center on thirdhand smoke, the toxic residue from tobacco smoke that can saturate homes, businesses, hotels, cars and casinos for years after the last cigarette is stubbed out.
Funded by revenues from a cigarette tax increase approved by California voters in 2016, the Thirdhand Smoke Resource Center will offer educational materials, workshops and additional resources on the hidden substances and the health hazards they pose.
A new website, , is the centerpiece of the effort to increase public awareness of thirdhand smoke.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a big illusion that when tobacco smoke disappears, we鈥檙e safe,鈥� said 色情视频 psychology professor Georg Matt, director of the resource center. 鈥淯nfortunately, some of the most toxic compounds clinch to surfaces. They get embedded in carpets, they coat walls, they penetrate into walls. They become part of the indoor environment.鈥�
The particle and vapors also become embedded in ceilings, carpets, furniture, cabinets, bedding and toys and have been detected years after smoking has stopped. They impact hotel and motel patrons, apartment tenants, resale homebuyers and taxi or ride-hailing passengers in places exposed to previous smoking.
In a recent study of 220 San Diego County apartments, smoke residue was detected in all 220 units despite very few of them housing smokers as tenants at the time. In some units, the levels were as heavy as those of smoking rooms at hotels.
According to Matt, the center and its website are intended to 鈥渕ake the public more aware of thirdhand smoke鈥� and help create indoor environments free of tobacco smoke pollutants.
Health hazards
Residue from smoking tobacco and vaping electronic cigarettes includes a mixture of toxic chemicals known to cause cancer and asthma. These chemicals can affect respiratory and cardiovascular health and may reduce the body鈥檚 ability to heal and fight infection.
Infants, small children and pets are particularly vulnerable because of the carpets and other surfaces they come into contact with or put into their mouths.
Repainting a home or apartment does not eliminate heavy thirdhand smoke contamination, Matt said. 鈥淵ou really have to gut the interior and rebuild, he said. 鈥淭ake out the drywall and the floors if you really want to get that stuff out.鈥�
鈥淵ou can imagine someone with a pack-a-day habit over a 10-year period,鈥� Matt said. 鈥淭here are massive amounts of nicotine as well as other carcinogens that just stay behind.鈥�
In cars driven by heavy smokers, he said, 鈥渢here鈥檚 not really a solution.鈥� Thirdhand smoke pollutants are in the upholstery, ceiling liners and ventilation system.
In addition to its educational materials, the center will conduct workshops and webinars for health professionals, health advocates, policymakers, apartment and hotel managers, car dealers and members of the general public who want to learn more about thirdhand smoke. The center also plans to develop do-it-yourself test kits for measuring thirdhand smoke and will work with businesses and community groups to test for thirdhand smoke pollution.
色情视频 and USC are both members of the Thirdhand Smoke Research Consortium funded by California鈥檚 Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program, created by the state Legislature from Proposition 56 of 2016. The $2-per-pack tax鈥攖he first successful cigarette tax increase since 1998鈥攚as approved with more than 64 percent of the vote. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the University of California, Riverside, and the University of California, San Francisco also participate in the consortium.
The Center can be reached at [email protected] or 619-594-3018.
