Are you planning to move into a new home? Most people have heard about second hand smoke being bad for your health, but have you ever heard about third hand smoke? Third hand smoke is residual tobacco smoke pollutants that can remain in an environment up to months after the last use of tobacco. These pollutants settle on dust and surfaces such as carpets and fabrics. They can be reemitted into the air and inhaled, ingested, and absorbed through the skin. When choosing a home, is third hand smoke important enough of a factor to affect your decision?
Smoke Lingering in an Indoor Environment Credit to Wikipedia Commons
Researchers at the San Diego State University found third hand smoke to be very persistent, with significant levels remaining in homes vacant for 2 months even after they were cleaned and prepared for new occupants.
Third hand smoke levels were measured in 100 homes of smokers and in 50 homes of non smokers before and after the occupants of the homes changed. With the original occupants of the homes still present, the homes of smokers were detected to have levels of third hand smoke around seven times higher on living room surfaces and on living room dust when compared to the homes of non smokers. Levels of third hand smoke were measured again two months after these original occupants moved out and new non-smokers moved in. The levels of third hand smoke on dust and on surfaces still exceeded health thresholds in more than half of these homes.
Urine samples for the new occupants in former homes of smokers and in former homes of non-smokers were analyzed, and the new occupants in homes of former smokers had an astonishing 3 to 5 times higher levels of tobacco pollutants present in their urine.
They found that third hand smoke levels in the air in homes of former smokers decreased after the change of occupancy, since polluted air can easily be recycled through air circulation and ventilation, but levels of third hand smoke on dust and surfaces remained high. So if you are planning to move into a new home especially with a newborn child, you should take care in choosing a home since infants and young children exhibit behaviours such as crawling and hand to mouth contact which exposes them to the high levels of third hand smoke found on dust and surfaces.
When choosing a new home, definitely try to avoid homes with excess levels of third hand smoke by knowing the history of the recent previous occupants. Knowing about the presence of third hand smoke can protect you and your family from the negative health effects of third hand smoke!
-Gareth Lee
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