Abstract
After the introduction of the smoke-free legislation, household smoking has become the major source of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure for children. In our previous research, we found a strong association between urinary unmodified benzene (u-UB) levels and passive smoking exposure related to the home smoking policies (HSP). The aim of the study is to further investigate the impacts of several factors on ETS-exposure in childhood by using u-UB as tobacco-related carcinogen biomarker of exposure. Two cross-sectional studies were performed on the same target population of our previous research, in summer and winter season of the years 2017 and 2018, respectively. A questionnaire and a head space–solid phase micro-extraction/gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-SPME/GC-MS) analytical method were used as investigative procedures. The improvement found in smoking habits, when compared to our previous surveys, reduced the levels of u-UB in children. However, significant differences related to the high number of smokers and smoked cigarettes, in total and at home, still persist. These differences are more relevant in the winter season. Finally, the only effective way for making homes completely smokefree is to develop public health policies for encouraging people to quit or drastically reduce smoking.
Highlights
Tobacco smoke is a complex mixture of thousands of compounds, found in particulate and vapour phases, which are proved to be very persistent in indoor environments far beyond the period of active smoking [1,2,3,4]
Several studies show that children represent a population at special risk for the adverse health effects of passive smoking [25,26,27,28,29,30,31], while there are no data indicating that low levels of children exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) are harmless
The current findings show that when the smoke load increases, toxicants from second-hand smoke (SHS) that persist on carpets, furnishings and walls as well as on clothes, skin and hairs of the smoker, are gradually released back into the air, even if smoking occurs at times or in rooms when no children are present
Summary
Tobacco smoke is a complex mixture of thousands of compounds, found in particulate and vapour phases, which are proved to be very persistent in indoor environments (air, dust, and surfaces) far beyond the period of active smoking [1,2,3,4]. The health risk of greatest concern to humans from long-term ETS exposure is carcinogenesis [18,19,20,21]. Low-level of exposure to benzene, the most significant human carcinogen component [22]. Several studies show that children represent a population at special risk for the adverse health effects of passive smoking [25,26,27,28,29,30,31], while there are no data indicating that low levels of children exposure to ETS are harmless. Specific epidemiological studies suggest that environmental benzene exposure in early life increases the risk of developing leukemia and other blood disorders in childhood [32,33,34,35,36]. Public Health 2020, 17, 5469; doi:10.3390/ijerph17155469 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph
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