Third Hand Smoke
by 
“Third hand smoke refers to the invisible yet toxic gases and particles clinging to hair, skin, clothing, or furnishings after smoking has ceased.” Naturalnews.com
How do you feel when you smell someone else’s cigarette smoke?
But the result is as bitter as poison, sharp as a double-edged sword. (Prov. 5:4; NLT)
When my immune system began breaking down well over 25 years ago, one of the first things that surfaced was intolerance to cigarette smoke. I could smell it for what seemed like miles away. Typical symptoms of a headache or burning and itchy eyes were only part of the picture. I would actually feel myself getting emotionally charged and even angry. Such behavior was uncharacteristic for me. I thought I was just upset at the smell. However, there is more to the picture.
There are up to 4,000 chemicals in cigarette smoke! Get that number…4000 in one of those cancer-causing sticks! Things such as benzene, butane, hydrogen cyanide, radioactive materials, heavy metals, and many other carcinogens to name a few.
Many of us probably grew up with second hand smoke due to one or both of our parents smoking. Second hand smoke comes from another person’s cigarette. There is well substantiated evidence about the harm this causes. Third hand smoke refers to the invisible, yet toxic, gases that cling to skin, hair, clothing, and furnishings once the smoking has ceased. I read several sources for this article and the consensus is that the toxic chemicals in smoke can linger and become embedded in surroundings and people. Even after any visible smoke is gone, the chemicals can still be inhaled and are harmful to those who come in contact with them. Opening windows or using fans is not sufficient to rid an area of toxic contaminants.
An article in Science Daily says (Link of the Day):
Nicotine in third-hand smoke, the residue from tobacco smoke that clings to virtually all surfaces long after a cigarette has been extinguished, reacts with the common indoor air pollutant nitrous acid to produce dangerous carcinogens. The burning of tobacco releases nicotine in the form of a vapor that adsorbs strongly onto indoor surfaces, such as walls, floors, carpeting, drapes, and furniture. Nicotine can persist on those materials for days, weeks, and even months.
Think of the impact of this on children who crawl on the floor or who are held or carried by a smoker. With over 4000 chemicals bombarding my brain, I now know that my neurological system was being assaulted from the third hand smoke.
If you’ve never smoked, DON’T start. If you’re a smoker and want to quit, here is one more reason to do so…for the health of those around you.
Prayer Power
Father, thank You that Your Word says that nothing is impossible with You. I pray for any of our readers who are smokers. I pray for grace and strength for them to be able to press into You and lay down this habit once and for all.
Link of the Day
Carcinogens Form from Third-Hand Smoke
Blessings on you as you continue to educate yourself about how to remain healthy.
Photo by J.L. Trinh
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Jerry Graham, aka "DocJerry," is a professional lifestyle and leadership coach and a social marketing authority who coaches ministry leaders, small business owners, and network marketers, on how to properly capitalize on the current Internet trends. He is also a blogger, a charter member and guide at Renegade University, and one of the Super Guides at Marketing Merge. 
Sharon Graham, R.N., is a professional lifestyle coach and a wellness authority who coaches a broad range of clients from corporate executives, small-business owners, and other professionals, to stay-at-home moms and dads in how to achieve and maintain wellness. Sharon is also a blogger, a sought-after public speaker, and a great cook who is currently compiling a cookbook. 
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Comments on Third Hand Smoke
My, how true are your words! With my lung disease (alpha-1) my sensitivity to cigarette toxins, first, second or third hand is extreme. People who have learned to ignore the smoke or the after effects scoff at the damage being done. I’m grateful that I can now go to a restaurant and not have to require special seating “as far away from smoking as possible,” or become dizzy in a hotel room with the toxins embedded in the carpet or curtains. I challenge your viewers to do “sniff tests” and to follow up with your resources for validation. I also encourage them to read the ingredients in products that are sold to “cover up” odors.
Thanks, Judi. We’ve certainly been there–not with alpha-1, but with EI. People just don’t realize what they’re doing to their bodies when the subject themselves to those chemicals.
God bless,
Jerry
Judi, thank you so much for sharing more on this subject with our readers. Bless your heart! Sharon
Since being held in a ‘residential institution’ and exposed constantly to the cigarette smoke of others, I have found now later in life that upon the slightest whiff of smoke, my chest feels heavy, and I feel nauseus and unwell. Coughing often follows in an attempt to clear teh percieved blockage in my chest.
The discomfort I expereince sitting in my own home as a result of draughts containing the sickening stench, makes my life far from bearable. I dream of teh day where I can litigate against these pollutive people in my apartment block, and whilst it will not help me recover, perhaps it will send a serious message to others