Prevent Thirdhand Smoke: Places

Thirdhand smoke is a toxic residue that sticks to surfaces and objects. People come into contact with thirdhand smoke when their skin touches a surface where thirdhand smoke has collected, when they breathe in thirdhand smoke chemicals that are in the air, and when they swallow residue that are on objects that they put in their mouths. Indoor environments where tobacco has been smoked can contain thirdhand smoke that will linger indoors for a long time – months to years.

On this page, you will find scientific information and first-hand accounts about preventing or avoiding exposure to thirdhand smoke pollution in houses, apartments/condos, hotels, and more. You can find communication strategies for interacting with realtors, apartment managers, and hotel staff. You can also read about your right to avoid places with thirdhand smoke pollution.

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A row of apartments on a sunny day. The image has the title “The California Fair Employment and Housing Act Can Help Tenants Avoid Second- and Thirdhand Smoke.”

Must Read Stories

Carpets Retain a Stubborn Grip on Pollutants from Tobacco Smoke

A new study from thirdhand smoke researchers from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory shows that thirdhand smoke chemicals that settle into surfaces do not stay there, but re-enter the air, sometimes transforming into new types of contaminants. In this study, the researchers evaluated the effects of ozonation, a common cleaning method, on smoke-exposed carpet.

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Does Thirdhand Smoke Make You Sick? The German Newspaper Die Zeit Investigates.

As Germany plans to ban smoking in cars with children or pregnant women, the German newspaper, Die Zeit, asked experts to weigh in on the forthcoming policy. The experts concluded that this policy does not go far enough and advised caution, especially for children, due to long-term risks posed by thirdhand smoke exposure (known as cold smoke exposure in Germany). Read the full story to answer the question, “Does Cold Smoke Make You Sick?”

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a man swabs a square sample of a car dashboard to test for thirdhand smoke

Can you test for thirdhand smoke?

Tobacco smoke contains thousands of chemicals that break down and interact with the environment. Scientists have developed sensitive tests1 using those chemical markers that can detect thirdhand smoke chemicals in the air, in house dust, on surfaces of indoor environments, and on people. However, these tests are expensive to conduct and few are available outside of university laboratories available at this time.

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