As we all know, smoking is harmful to health. Not only will the health of smokers be damaged, but passive smokers will also cause malignant tumors, asthma, tracheitis, pneumonia and other diseases by inhaling second-hand smoke, that is, mainstream smoke exhaled by smokers and sidestream smoke directly discharged from tobacco burning. However, the harm of smoking goes far beyond this. Executive Vice President of Beijing Health Education Association, Director of Tobacco Control and Lung Cancer Prevention Department of China Cancer Foundation, Director of xuanwu hospital Thoracic Surgery Department of Capital Medical University, and Professor Zhi, a famous tobacco control expert, reminded people that "third-hand smoke" that can't be blown out will also endanger people's health, especially infants.
What is third-hand smoke?
The harmful substances in the smoke produced by cigarette burning are difficult to dissipate in a short time, even after the cigarette is extinguished. Professor Zhi Yixiu said: "No matter where you smoke, harmful particles in the smoke will be adsorbed on your hair, skin, clothes, carpets, sofas and car seat covers. These toxic components include hydrocyanic acid, butane, toluene, arsenic, lead, carbon monoxide, polonium 20 1 etc. After contact with children after smoking, children will still be harmed by harmful substances produced by cigarette burning in the environment. " We call this phenomenon "third-hand smoke".
Babies are vulnerable to "third-hand smoke" because they can inhale pollutants close to themselves or touch and lick the surface of contaminated objects. In addition, "third-hand smoke" stays indoors for a long time and still exists after the cigarette is extinguished. The researchers said that due to the small body surface area of infants and young children, similar to low-level lead environment, low-level smoke particles will lead to cognitive defects in children. Studies show that the longer children are exposed to smoke particles, the worse their reading ability. Even if the content of smoke particles is extremely low, it may still cause symptoms of neurotoxicity in infants.
Crawling babies explore the world with their sense of touch and taste. No matter what you catch, wet little hands like to stuff them in your mouth. They often crawl and play on carpets and sofas. If the baby's parents have a bad habit of smoking, this curious baby is likely to be the victim of what Professor Zhi Yixiu calls "third-hand smoke". George Matt, a professor at San Diego State University, said that as much as 90% of nicotine in smoke will adhere to the surface of nearby objects, and babies may inhale nicotine and other harmful compounds when hugging their mothers, even if their mothers never smoke around their babies. Matt published his research report in Tobacco Control in 2004. About 43% of the children aged from 2 months to 1 1 live with smokers.
In a small study of 49 infants 13 months, it was found that nicotine is ubiquitous in the air and dust of smokers' homes, even if these people don't smoke indoors. Related tests also found cotinine, a metabolite of nicotine, in the urine and hair of infants.
According to the research, as expected, the level of cotinine in infants whose parents smoke nearby is the highest, which is nearly 50 times higher than that of infants whose parents don't smoke. Matt says parents of smokers who try to protect their children can only get partial results. Studies have shown that the level of cotinine in infants of smokers who don't smoke at home is seven times that of non-smokers.
Matt's research shows that if you rent a car, hotel or apartment that is exposed to cigarettes all the year round, adults may also become victims of smoke residue. Young people may be exposed to smoke residues all day. Jonathan Weinikoff, an assistant professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, said that because children breathe faster than adults, they will inhale more chemicals. Babies who can only crawl may be infected with chemicals through their skin. Therefore, they may be in greater danger, because children's weight is lower than that of adults, and the same level of toxic substances is more harmful to children. Because of its active characteristics, it is easier to get in close contact with harmful substances remaining in the environment. In addition, children are in a special period of growth and development, and their resistance to harmful substances is far lower than that of adults. Therefore, tobacco residues in the environment, including toxic substances such as lead and arsenic, are very harmful to children's nervous system, respiratory system and circulatory system. Nowadays, many parents believe that smoking when children go out and then opening the window for ventilation will not endanger their health. This misunderstanding needs to be corrected urgently.
These findings unanimously confirm the concept put forward by WHO-there is no safe bottom line for tobacco exposure!
A recent survey found that people don't know enough about the harm of third-hand smoke. Based on the telephone survey of 2000 households, this paper counts people's answers to the question "Does smoking yesterday have a bad effect on indoor air today and will it harm children?" Of the 1478 respondents who answered all the questions, 273 were smokers. The total results show that more than 95.4% non-smokers and 84. 1% smokers realize the harm of second-hand smoke to children's health. In contrast, 65.2% non-smokers and 43.3% smokers are aware of the harm of third-hand smoke to children. The awareness of the harm of third-hand smoke is significantly related to whether the family bans smoking.
Many smokers changed their smoking habits after realizing the harm of "second-hand smoke" to others' health. The results show that even if smokers stay away from passive smokers, the harmful substances emitted by smoking will still affect the health of others. So for smokers, quitting smoking may be the best choice.
To this end, we call for banning people from smoking indoors where children live. The harm of third-hand smoke to health is real. Strengthen the understanding of how "third-hand smoke" harms children's health.
Understanding can promote the formulation and implementation of family smoking ban measures, and at the same time bring the pollution of "third-hand smoke" into tobacco control and health management.