Thirdhand smoke linked to liver, lung and skin problems

While the physical evidence of secondhand smoke can be seen wafting through the air, thirdhand smoke is a more clandestine health threat. The invisible remnant of tobacco smoke that clings to surfaces and even dust, thirdhand smoke is linked to several adverse health effects in a new study published in PLOS ONE.

According to the researchers, from the University of California-Riverside (UCR), tobacco smoke affects around 1.5 billion smokers worldwide, but several billion more are at an "underappreciated health risk" from cigarette smoke exposure.

Although many parents who smoke may protect their children from exposure to secondhand smoke, the researchers say the effects of thirdhand smoke are also dangerous.

They cite previous research suggesting that children living with adults who smoke in the home are absent from school 40% more days than children who do not live with smokers.

Medical News Today recently reported on a study that suggested secondhand smoke exposure is linked to hospital readmission for asthmatic children.

But researchers from this latest study say thirdhand smoke is left on surfaces and ages over time, becoming increasingly more toxic. The team suggests second and thirdhand smoke are just as harmful as firsthand smoke.

Health impacts of thirdhand smoke

And the threat does not only apply to smokers, the team explains. Even after smokers move out of a house or hotel, thirdhand smoke and its accompanying carcinogens remain.