Scientists now say, though, that despite efforts to blow smoke out of a window of a car or step into another room or duck outside to light up, we aren't doing enough to keep cigarette's toxins from kids. What we're missing, researchers report, are the invisible but potent carcinogens, radioactive bits and heavy metals that stick to hair, hands, carpeting, cushions, and other places where smokers and smoke have been. They've coined these newly studied toxins "third hand smoke" and say it is particularly dangerous for children who can easily breathe and ingest them.
If the health risk doesn't seem like a big deal, consider just a few of the 11 ingredients of third-hand smoked classified as highly carcinogenic:
- butane
- carbon monoxide
- arsenic
- lead
“Your nose isn’t lying,” he said. “The stuff is so toxic that your brain is telling you: ’Get away.’”
Time, education, and further study will show whether people, and especially parents, will take third-hand smoke's invisible toxins as seriously as they've taken cigarettes and second-hand smoke. Until then, it seems we've only scratched the surface of how long (and far and wide and deep into the couch pillows) the dangerous components of cigarette smoking lingers.
Does the idea of third-hand smoke scare you? Will it change how you behave? Would you go so far as to not let your children visit a smoker's home, hold a smoker's hand or play with a smoker's child?
Is this enough to make you quit?
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[photo credit: Getty Images]
