FIRST we learned of the risks of smoking. Then it was the dangers of inhaling the smoke from someone else’s cigarette. Fair enough – there’s strong evidence that passive smoking increases the risk of heart attack, lung cancer and cot death. Now some smoking researchers are warning that third-hand smoke – the particles that linger on skin and clothes long after the cigarette has been extinguished – could also be a danger (see “Fuming”). Is this a step too far?
The evidence that third-hand smoke has any physiological effects is tenuous, yet much of the media – and some health organisations –…
