It's All Around You

Here's the latest thing that will kill us all. Are you ready for the tragic consequences of exposure to ...third hand smoke? Third Hand Smoke Also Bad For Your Health

You know smoking is bad for you. You know inhaling someone else's smoke is bad for you. Now a US study says third-hand smoke -- tobacco residue clinging to surfaces -- is also bad for you.

When a cigarette burns, nicotine is released in the form of a vapor that collects and condenses on indoor surfaces such as walls, carpeting, drapes and furniture, where it can linger for months, said the study, which was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

I'll be honest with you. I had trouble picturing the path you have to follow to arrive at third hand smoke. Was it something you were exposed to through someone who has been breathing second-hand smoke? Actually, it's the residue from smoke. They even have a cute name for it: TSNA's

"Our study shows that when this residual nicotine reacts with ambient nitrous acid it forms carcinogenic tobacco-specific nitrosamines, or TSNAs," said Hugo Destaillats, a corresponding author of the study.

"TSNAs are among the most broadly acting and potent carcinogens present in unburned tobacco and tobacco smoke," he said.

Scoff if you like, but the study's authors have a trump card: TSNA's are most dangerous to infants and toddlers...and puppies. Expect outrageous calls for TSNA abatement to follow.