Posted on 08/07/2006 9:30:09 PM PDT by Extremely Extreme Extremist
As any parent knows, crawling babies explore the world by touching - and tasting - anything they can get their wet little hands on.
If their parents use tobacco, that curiosity may expose babies to what some doctors are calling "thirdhand" smoke - particles and gases given off by cigarettes that cling to walls, clothes and even hair and skin. Up to 90% of the nicotine in cigarette smoke sticks to nearby surfaces, says Georg Matt, a professor at San Diego State University.
Preliminary research by Matt and others suggests the same chemicals that leave a stale cigarette odor on clothes and upholstery also can be swallowed, inhaled or absorbed through the skin of non-smokers. Smoke residue may linger for hours, days or months, depending on the ventilation and the level of contamination. In some cases, contaminants may need to be removed by rigorously cleaning or replacing wallpaper, rugs and drapes, Matt says.
Matt cautions that his research needs to be confirmed by other studies. But his work suggests that babies may take in nicotine and other chemicals just by hugging their mothers - even if their mothers never light up next to them.
About 43% of children ages 2 months to 11 years live with a smoker, according to research described in Matt's 2004 study in the journal Tobacco Control.
In his small study of 49 infants under 13 months old, Matt found nicotine in the air and dust throughout smokers' homes, even when parents smoked only outside. Tests also found a nicotine byproduct, cotinine, in babies' urine and inside shafts of their hair.
As expected, babies whose parents smoked around them had the highest cotinine levels - nearly 50 times higher than the babies of non-smokers, according to the study.
Smokers who tried to shield their infants had only partial success, Matt says. The babies of parents who smoked only outside had cotinine levels seven times higher than in the infants of non-smokers, the study showed.
Adults also may be exposed to significant smoke residue if they rent cars, hotel rooms or apartments that have soaked up years of smoke, Matt says. He worries more about youngsters, however, because they may be exposed day and night for years.
Children also may be at greater risk because they breathe faster than adults and inhale more chemicals, says Jonathan Winickoff, an assistant professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School. Crawling babies may take in chemicals through their skin.
Though scientists have extensive evidence about the damage caused by secondhand smoke, they know relatively little about the potential risks of thirdhand exposure, says Brett Singer, a scientist at California's Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory. "The million-dollar question is: How dangerous is this?" Singer says. "We can't say for sure this is a health hazard."
Matt agrees that doctors should study children - ideally for 10 or 15 years or more - to see whether low levels of smoke residue worsen asthma or harm the development of a child's lungs.
Georg! Mr. Matt! Put down that pen your using and take a shower immediately! It was in my smoking room for 15 years. You better take a shower within 2 minutes or you'll die of that dreaded THIRD-HAND smoke! OHHHHHHHHH NOOOOOOOOOO! I'll call 9-1-1
This could explain why my great grandmother died at 97. It wasn't the first (she smoked for 80 years) or second-hand smoke it was that gawd-awful third-hand smoke.
Pulease... give me a break!
LOL
Whatever.
I don't know EVERYTHING, but obviously I know more than you do. :-)
You need to read his other posts as well.
When the doctor told Daddy that he had prostate cancer, Daddy said, "But, I've promised everyone that I'd die of lung cancer." (Sometimes he says he said, "Everyone promised me that . . . "
"I grew up in a family that had me smoking 2 packs a day by the time I was 6"
You should thank them. You'll probably live to be a hundred years old.
3-4 packs a day for almost 40 years and spent nearly all of her time in that house puffing away. Died of lung cancer.
It was freaky. I tossed all the curtains, tablecloths, etc. bcse I knew I'd never get the smell out, but I was shocked that the smell got into stuff that was sealed up.
78 posted on 08/08/2006 12:28:25 AM CDT by Mordacious
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Yeah, WHATEVER, right back at you.
To this day I have yet to figure out how to work that stupid self cleaning oven thingy
I tried it once and almost killed myself from the fumes/smoke in the house
I just use the spray ... chemicals are so much easier
Visit "his" Freep page to see that "he" is a SHE!!!
You breathe your whiskey?
Fructose?
Fructose: Also known as levulose, fructose is found naturally in fruits and honey. Yor body doesn't turn refined white sugar into that. It's probablythe best form of sugar you can eat, probably because you need to eat the fruit it comes in.
Sucrose: More commonly known as white, refined table sugar, it comes from sugar cane, sugar beets, and sugar maples, and is the most widely used form of sugar.
Glucose is the form that all sugars are broken down to by our bodies to be utilized for energy.
As far as nutritional benefit to our bodies, all simple sugars are empty calories-about four per gram. As regards their impact upon our bodies, sucrose is the worst. It demands the production of insulin by our pancreas, causes significant fluctuation in blood-sugar levels, and robs nutrients from various stores in our bodies in order to be digested.
A new study published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Mile Markers, and Prevention is presenting evidence of the link between the consumption of refined carbohydrates and cancer. This case-controlled study looked at the dietary habits of over 1,800 women in Mexico, and found that those who got 57% or more of their total energy intake from carbohydrates showed a 220% higher risk of breast cancer than women with more balanced diets.
This study shows that foods with high glycemic index values -- that is, foods that more quickly raise blood sugar levels in the human body -- actually accelerate the growth of cancer cells and tumors in the human body. Researchers involved with the study propose that the correlation between the consumption of refined carbohydrates and breast cancer could be related to elevated levels of insulin and the fact that many breast cancer tumors are encouraged and supported by high levels of insulin in the body.
Many people in the general public still do not know that consuming refined carbohydrates causes cancer, and thus they continue to drink soft drinks containing high-fructose corn syrup, they continue to eat breakfast cereals loaded with sugars and corn syrup, and they continue to eat large amounts of white flour in products like pancakes, breads, pastries, cookies, and crackers, oblivious to the idea that they are actually giving themselves cancer.
You really should read up on refind sugars.
Sadly,far too many people on FR have only very rudimentary reading comprehension skills and some just want to start a fight.
Don't cherry-pick posts.
OMG...I thought I was the only one! LOL
See my alias. I do not drink wisky!
What do you mean? Are you some kind of fool?
Do not trouble me. I have little time for those
whose IQ matches Jimmy Carter.
Frankly, I have been thought to be a man, by so many, for so long, I laugh at it. The person you are so worried about needs to fight her own battles. I suggest you butt out.
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