If you’re hunting for a new home, add “smoking history” to your inspection list. When researchers compared 150 homes, they found that the former dwellings of smokers had five to seven times the nicotine levels of nonsmokers’ houses – even after they had been cleaned for new tenants. More unnerving: Within a month of moving into former smokers’ homes, nonsmoking residents acquired up to eight times the amount of nicotine residue as did nonsmokers who had moved into smoke-free spots. “Ninety percent of nicotine in tobacco smoke stays in the indoor environment,” says lead study author George Matt, PhD. It’s likely these stick particles, as well as other tobacco pollutants, will become imbedded in a place that was the site of decades of heavy smoking. Although the risks of this third hand smoke have yet to be quantified, some of the compounds are known carcinogens, and others are strong irritants. Always inquire about the smoking history of a home that interests you and look for telltale signs like burn marks on the carpet and yellowed walls.
SOURCE: Melanie Spear, PDE
