Third-Hand Smoking: Serious Health-Risk or Activists Taking It Too Far?

[sizzle949]

So not to long ago I was doing a project for Law on Anti-smoking Regulations (My view is that the owner of the business should be able to choose whether or not smoking takes place in their restaurant, not the government). While researching the effects of second-hand smoking, I saw a story on CBC news on third-hand smoking, especially on infants. For those who do not know what third-hand smoke is, that is when the smoke clings to clothing and furniture and is later inhaled by someone else. At first it sounded like the biggest joke ever, then I saw the proof behind it. Then it became the stupidest joke ever. The research behind it was they took a poll of 1,500 U.S households. 65% of non-smokers and 43% of smokers believed it caused damage. Yes... that's the great research, I'm not joking. They polled average Americans and used that as evidence. After asking several of my friends, I created my own poll. 49 out of 50 people believed that it was the stupidest thing they heard that week, and 1 out of 50 thought I was joking and got angry at me when I told other people that it was true.

http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2009/01/06/smoking-third.html

So I honestly need to ask, does anyone here honestly believe that third-hand smoking is a major threat to people and/or infants and needs to be regulated like second-hand smoke is? I just wanna see what everyone more or less thinks about this.

 

[sky14kemea]

...depends on how heavy a smoker you are and whether you purposefully exhale into the furniture? XD

i dont think its a major threat

 

[Cowabungaa]

This is taking it too far I think, second-hand smoke ok, afterall that's also inhaling smoke. But isn't 'third-hand smoke' really smoke? Isn't that just the smell wich goes into the clothes? Then again, my grandma gets asthma reactions from houses, even just furniture and clothes, if they're regulary exposed to smoke. I doubt it is a true health risk for healthy people, unlike second and first-hand smoking.

 

[gigastrike]

Would there even be a significant about of this stuff to cause bodily harm? They don't seem to mention how much of it there would be, and just how toxic it it.

 

[Erana]

Well, I know I have to thouroughly wash myself after even being in a smoker's house; it gets my head something terrible...

 

[A random person]

Excuse me for being an idiot, but third hand smoke?

 

[NeedAUserName]

...depends on how heavy a smoker you are and whether you purposefully exhale into the furniture? XD

i dont think its a major threat

Well you never know, you could breathe straight onto a chair, and then someone might come up straight after you leave and inhale the scent of the chair, only to find that they get two lungs full of third hand smoke!

 

[Spadly]

How would anyone go about regulating third-hand smoke though?

Also, smoking is already banned in almost all public places (here in the UK anyway) so I think the job is done to protect non-smokers from breathing in my filthy fumes, so there's not really much point in kicking up a big fuss about this, I would think?

 

[historybuff]

No, don't think it's a big deal.

If you're going about sucking face with furniture, you likely have much bigger issues to worry about. Haha.

 

[teisjm]

Look at it this way.

Only a small percentage of the smoke clings to the clothes
Only a small percentage of the smoke in the clothes is inhales by the non-smoker.

If that small percentage of a small percentage is harmful, then beeing a smoker who inhales the majority of the smoke from many ciggarete a day would prolly kill you after a few weeks tops.

I've been smoking for over 5 years and i'm still alive, so i call it bullshit.

 

[Lord Beautiful]

This is just getting ridiculous. Second-hand smoke isn't even much of a health risk. I can't wait to see Truth put this crap in their commercials and try to sell it with a straight face.

 

[cleverlymadeup]

that's really funny

i don't think it's an issue, i mean the amount of smoke you'd get out of a piece of clothing is negligible. i mean if that was true i'd get a contact high every time i went to a friend's house and sat on his couch

 

[lacktheknack]

An athsmatic speaking:

If I smell any cigarette smoke AT ALL, even on clothes, my lungs fill with mucous to wash it out, and I can't breathe.

So it's an issue to me, yes.

 

[scotth266]

Well, I know I have to thouroughly wash myself after even being in a smoker's house; it gets my head something terrible...

Exactly. It does exist, trust me. Whether or not it's harmful? Who knows.

 

[Biek]

Sounds like another excuse to enforce the anti-smoking policy. I mean, damn, if you look at it that way, they should forbid car and chimneys as well. Do you have any idea what crap your breathing in?

 

[Avatar Roku]

Wow, that's pretty over-kill. First Second-Hand which isn't even that bad then this, what's next?

At least Second hand is a threat in some way to people without asthma, this is just ridiculous.

 

[sizzle949]

An athsmatic speaking:

If I smell any cigarette smoke AT ALL, even on clothes, my lungs fill with mucous to wash it out, and I can't breathe.

So it's an issue to me, yes.

Sure that's more than understandable, but isn't it more your responsibility to avoid smokers and their houses in the same sense we don't outlaw peanuts on the odd chance that someone with a peanut allergy, which there seem to be a giant amount of, might stumble upon a place that serves peanuts.

 

[Squedee]

i had never heard the term 3rd hand smoke before i looked at this
its probably not as big a deal as it should be
and why is it people who are highly unlikely to be affected by things such as this, or the swine flu, etc. are the ones most likely to *****?