Abstract
Recent discussion has focused on another form of exposure to tobacco - thirdhand smoke (THS) - consisting of residual pollutants from cigarette smoke that remain in environments. The main concern with THS is based on the presence and persistence of many toxic compounds, some specific nitrosamines from tobacco that have carcinogenic activity. Little is known about THS, and few people are aware of its existence and potential health repercussions, thus highlighting the need to shed light on the subject and incorporate it into the public health debate, as was done with passive smoking several years ago. THS is a form of passive smoking, together with secondary or involuntary exposure to cigarette smoke. Recentemente, passou a ser discutida mais uma forma de exposição ao tabaco - thirdhand smoke (THS) - que consiste nos poluentes residuais da fumaça de cigarro que permanecem nos ambientes. A principal preocupação com o THS é embasada na presença e longa persistência de muitos compostos tóxicos, algumas nitrosaminas específicas do tabaco que têm atividade carcinogênica. Além de se saber pouco sobre o THS, poucos sabem de sua existência e preocupante repercussão na saúde. Coloca-se em destaque a necessidade de trazê-lo à luz e incluí-lo nas discussões, assim como foi feito com o tabagismo passivo alguns anos atrás, até mesmo porque o THS se caracteriza como uma forma de tabagismo passivo junto à exposição secundária ou involuntária da fumaça de cigarro.
Highlights
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that one-third of the world’s adult population is exposed involuntarily to cigarette smoke 1
Passive smoking is associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus, sinusitis, tuberculosis, and breast cancer 7,8,9,10
Matt et al 37 reported that even in environments in which smokers refrained from smoking, as in children’s bedrooms, nicotine was detected in the house dust at levels five to seven times higher than in non-smokers’ homes
Summary
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that one-third of the world’s adult population is exposed involuntarily to cigarette smoke 1. Due to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), 3,000 deaths occur per year from lung cancer, and the odds of neoplasia are 35% greater in passive smokers 6. Recent years have witnessed debate on the danger of contamination by tobacco’s harmful substances, even after the cigarette has been put out This exposure has been called thirdhand smoke (THS) 13 (in Brazil, the term’s literal translation in Portuguese, fumo de terceira mão, is still not widely used). The proportion of Brazilian smokers dropped significantly, from 32% in 1989 to 15% in 2013 23 This reduction was due to numerous interventions, including a ban on cigarette advertising in the mass media and sponsorship of events by tobacco companies, tax hikes on tobacco products, health warnings on cigarette packs, awareness-raising campaigns, and greater availability of behavioral and pharmacological smoking cessation treatment in the public healthcare system, among others 24. This emphasizes the need to focus attention on THS and include it in scientific and public health discussions, as was done with passive smoking several years ago, among other reasons because passive smoking includes THS
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