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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.
Actually, I think it carrots that are killling people, think about it, know anyone who has not eaten carrots? Yet they all will die, thats 100%. fatal./Junk science
What about fourth-hand smoke for the cockroaches and spiders. LOLOL
He was lucky--my grand dad rolled his own and only made it to 89.
.....LOL....I wonder if they study how things like Endust, Formula 409, detergent, air freshener....blah blah blah effects kids....I'm sure they are all just walking/crawling chemical toxic waste dumps by now....
I guess when Man lived in caves, they made people cook the food outside.
How about oven cleaner?
Libertarian ping.To be added or removed from my ping list freepmail me or post a message here
..well I thought of that....it is included in the "blah blah blah"....*wink*...but there are so many self cleaning ovens these days....didn't want to sound too old....lol
ROTFLOL....spot on. :-)
Sure glad I didn't fart around the kids
And for every story like that, their are others, which contradict it.
I just got a self-cleaning oven delivered today funny enough. I've got the old one (not self cleaning) out on the porch. I'm not going to clean it though. I'm going to offer it on Craig's in the free section from "my smoke free home". What about smoke though from my cooking--does that count?
LOL....but Endust et all, don't help the smokenazis further their agenda.
Of course there are...I'm not dead, am I? But we'll never know about my brother, will we?
.....damn....you're supposed to be dead....don't disappoint academia
No, I doubt that we will know about your brother.
I did get that disease, it caused my legs and arms to be the length of a man 4'6", while my torso is of a 7 footer. When driving I look HUGE, but when I get out the girls laugh.......kinda like that guy in the bowling commercial....or is that a shoe commercial? ;^))...
I know what you can do with that oven.....Leave it to Beaver....*smirk*...sorry, I couldn't help that....
I highly recommend discontinuing all cooking, especially barbequing...
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