Carcinogenic residue may pose 'third-hand' smoking danger

摘要

Residues of cigarette smoke deposited on indoor surfaces can turn carcinogenic when they react with airborne chemicals. This "third-hand" exposure could in theory cause health problems, particularly in children, says Hugo Destaillats, a specialist in indoor pollution at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California.rnHis team found several chemicals on the inside of the cab of a half-pack-a-day smoker's truck, including a carcinogen called NNK. Destaillats's team reckon that NNK is produced when nicotine from tobacco smoke reacts with nitrous acid in the air.