Thirdhand Smoke Triggers Skin Disease
In the body, the skin is the organ that receives the most significant amount of exposure to thirdhand smoke. Thirdhand smoke is the residual pollutant from tobacco smoke that remains on surfaces. The chemicals in thirdhand smoke include nicotine and cancer-causing formaldehyde and naphthalene. Thirdhand smoke can stay on indoor surfaces and in dust indefinitely and can cause harmful exposure to both smokers and non-smokers alike.
Researchers at the University of California Riverside have found that acute exposure elevates biomarkers associated with skin diseases. Common skin diseases related to such exposure include contact dermatitis and psoriasis. The research was published in eBioMedicine and proposed that: “thirdhand smoke (THS) exposure correlated with significant metabolism of carcinogenic chemicals and the potential to cause detrimental health effects”.
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“Human harm research of THS exposure is limited to one other study and overall, there is a general lack of knowledge of the human health responses to THS exposure,” the paper explained. The clinical investigation took place at UC San Francisco and evaluated the health effects of 3-h dermal thirdhand smoke exposure on 10 healthy, non-smoking participants.
Participants wore clothing impregnated with smoke for periods of three hours. They were made to either walk or run on a treadmill for 15 minutes every hour to induce perspiration and ensure uptake through the skin. Blood and urine samples were collected from participants at regular intervals to test the detection of protein changes and markers of oxidative stress induced by the smoke.
Results were compared to a control group who wore clean clothing. The study found “that acute dermal exposure to THS mimics the harmful effects of cigarette smoking, alters the human plasma proteome, initiates mechanisms of skin inflammatory disease, and elevates urinary biomarkers of oxidative harm.”
The University of California Riverside’s research team aims to continue their investigations into thirdhand smoke. They plan next to analyse the residues left by electronic cigarette and their effects on human skin. In addition to this, they plan to test larger populations that have been exposed for extended periods of time.
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