![headshot of Ashley Merianos](https://www.uc.edu/news/articles/2024/01/n21218528/jcr:content/image.img.cq5dam.thumbnail.500.500.jpg/1704732109819.jpg)
Study: Thirdhand smoke may harm children
UC researcher says toxic substances remain on surfaces, even in homes that ban indoor smoking
It’s long been established that secondhand smoke is a detriment to health and linked to cancer.
Now, researchers are looking more closely at thirdhand smoke, which is the presence of toxic tobacco by-products that remain on surfaces such as furniture, décor, walls and floors.
In a new study, published in the Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology, researchers tested the surfaces in smoking households where children reside and found troubling results, says Ashley Merianos, a tobacco researcher at the University of Cincinnati who led the study.
Researchers found nicotine on surfaces in all of the children's homes and detected the presence of a tobacco-specific carcinogen (called NNK) in nearly half of the homes, she says.
Tobacco smoke leaves nicotine and its byproducts on surfaces. Photo/Unsplash/Nasfi
The study reported that the NNK levels on surfaces and vacuumed dust were similar, which Merianos says indicates that surfaces and dust can be similar reservoirs and sources of thirdhand smoke exposure for children.
“This is critically important and concerning, since NNK is considered the most potent carcinogen for tobacco-induced cancers,” says Merianos, an associate professor in UC’s School of Human Services.
Additional findings include:
- Children living in lower-income households had higher levels of NNK and nicotine found on home surfaces.
- Children living in homes that did not ban indoor smoking had higher levels of NNK and nicotine found on surfaces.
Merianos says that NNK and nicotine were still detected in homes with voluntary indoor smoking bans, which highlights the persistence of thirdhand smoke pollutants on surfaces in children's homes.
“This research highlights that home smoking bans do not fully protect children and their families from the dangers of tobacco,” she adds.
Merianos is a prolific researcher and has extensive training and experience in the epidemiology and prevention of substance use with an emphasis on tobacco, as well as quantitative statistical methods and clinical and translational research in the pediatric health care setting.
She is also a research affiliate member of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, the Thirdhand Smoke Research Consortium and the American Academy of Pediatrics Tobacco Consortium.
Featured image at top of Ashley Merianos. Photo/Andrew Higley/UC Marketing + Brand.
Impact Lives Here
The University of Cincinnati is leading public urban universities into a new era of innovation and impact. Our faculty, staff and students are saving lives, changing outcomes and bending the future in our city's direction. Next Lives Here.
Related Stories
GEAR UP Partnership Paves Pathways To College
November 13, 2002
More than 1,000 young people from disadvantaged backgrounds will learn that they, too, can go to college, as GEAR UP brings academic opportunities, college-related activities and support for teachers.
UC Named Lead Organization for OSHA Training Consortium
January 13, 2003
UC Continuing Medical Education (CME) has been selected as the lead organization for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Great Lakes Training Consortium by the U.S. Department of Labor.
Ignorance of Stroke s Warning Signs a Barrier to Treatment; More Education Needed, UC Researchers Report in JAMA
January 14, 2003
Demographic groups facing the greatest risk of death and disability from stroke are the least likely to recognize stroke s warning signs and risk factors, according to a study by UC researchers published in the January 15 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
Distance Learning Program Highlighted in Washington
January 15, 2003
UC's Early Childhood Learning Community is highlighted as Head Start celebrates the success of a distance-learning literacy course.
New Education Agreement Between UC and Cincinnati State
January 20, 2003
UC and Cincinnati State reach a transfer articulation agreement for students interested in teaching middle school level.
UC Researchers Find New Link Between the Eye and the Clock in the Brain
January 21, 2003
Results of a study done by a team of researchers working in the laboratories of Michael Lehman, PhD, professor, Department of Cell Biology, Neurobiology, and Anatomy at the UC College of Medicine, will appear in the February issue of Nature Neuroscience.
Leader of Fetal Surgery to Deliver Lectures at UC
January 31, 2003
An internationally recognized authority on fetal surgery will lecture at the UC Medical Center, representing the first of a series of lectures on fetal surgery presented by the department of Obstetrics and Gynecology (Ob/Gyn).
UC Celebrates National Heart Failure Awareness Week
January 31, 2003
UC Medical Center physicians Lynne Wagoner, MD, and Harvey Hahn, MD, are teaming up with The University Hospital to celebrate National Heart Failure Awareness Week, Feb. 10-14, 2003.
UC College of Nursing Announces New Scholarship for Graduate Program
January 31, 2003
The UC College of Nursing announces the availability of a new scholarship for a full-time student in the Women s Health Graduate Nursing Program.
Five From UC Named Leading Women
February 6, 2003
The Celebration of Women in Greater Cincinnati will honor females who have achieved greatness on March 6