Third-hand smoking knowledge and awareness an observational study

Abstract

Background

Tobacco smoke is most likely the oldest and most widespread form of substance abuse in the world. It turns out to be a real mixture of about 12,000 chemicals of which only 4,000 have been identified with absolute certainty. From a toxicological point of view, the most important components are divided into toxic substances, carcinogenic substances and irritating and oxidizing substances.

Today 40% of children, 33% of non-smokers and 35% of non-smokers women, are exposed to passive smoking responsible for the death of about 600,000 people a year. Passive smoking, therefore, the involuntary inhalation of tobacco smoke dispersed in the environment, which includes the smoke produced both by the combustion of the cigarette or other smoking tobacco product and by the exhalation of the smoke by the smoker, diluted with the air of the environment, is still one of the most important and most widespread exhibitions in the confined environment. The substances emitted are also absorbed by the furnishings that release them slowly (a phenomenon called "third-hand smoke"), so that exposure to secondhand smoke lasts for a much longer time than when they were exhaled.

Exposure to third-hand smoke involves the involuntary inhalation of carcinogenic substances and other toxic and harmful components for health, increasing the risk of serious diseases. Infants and children are more exposed to the risks associated with third-hand smoke. This is favored by direct contact both with contaminated surfaces and with any adult smokers who are about to pick them up. In addition, passive smoking in newborns is also an important risk factor for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), that is the sudden and unexpected death of an infant less than one year of life without established causes; in addition to being associated with an increase in ear infections, respiratory infections, neuro-developmental disorders, attention deficit and hyperactivity.

The electronic cigarette was born as an incentive to quit smoking; however, there is no scientific evidence of this benefit or guarantee on the safety of use. Government investigations have found different quantities of nicotine than those declared by the manufacturers, in addition to the presence of traces of heavy metals, volatile organic compounds, particulates, hydrocarbons and nitrosamines.

There is therefore a clear risk of exposure to secondhand smoke also associated with the electronic cigarette.

Objectives

The purpose of this study is to analyze the degree of awareness related to passive smoking, to identify strategies to deal with the repercussions of this social and health problem.

Methods

An observational study was conducted through the online administration of a self-administered structured questionnaire aimed at investigating the knowledge and awareness related to passive smoking. The participants were students from the health area, health professionals and subjects unrelated to health work residing in Italy.

The data collection took place from Abril to July 2018.

Results

A total of 3795 subjects participated in the study by completing the online questionnaire.

Among the respondents, 68.6% (n = 2603) said they did not smoke; the remaining 31.4% (n = 1192) instead claimed to smoke traditional cigarettes, electronic cigarettes, cigars, marijuana or other smoking devices. Most (60.3%; n = 1244) of the respondents started smoking between the ages of 16 and 20, while in 20.8% (n = 429) of the subjects the onset of smoking took place between the ages of 10 and 15.

Indoor smokers and / or smokers in the presence of children and / or pregnant women are 3.3% (n = 126), while those who declare they do not smoke in the presence of children and pregnant women are 36.3% (n = 1377). Furthermore, 15% (n = 570) of the respondents state that they smoke indoors such as cars and / or apartments.

More than half of the respondents, 55.8% (n = 2118), report having lived together during childhood with relatives and cohabitants who used to smoke in the apartment.

Only 31.2% (n = 1184) of respondents say they know what third-hand smoking is. In fact, 53.7% (n = 2038) of the respondents stated that they were unaware that a smoker after stopping a cigarette exhales harmful substances for several minutes.

However, 60% (n = 2277) of the sample declared to be aware that numerous harmful substances originating from cigarette smoke resist and are deposited for many months on objects, glass and tiles. In addition, 85% of respondents are also aware of the deposit of the harmful substances of smoke on the skin, clothes, hair and which increase the risk of cancers, respiratory diseases and many other diseases. As for the awareness that indoor smoking increases the risk of sudden death in the newborn and respiratory tract infection in the child, it is confirmed by 70.4% (n = 2672) of the sample.

Finally, in relation to electronic cigarettes (E-Cig), 56% (n = 2125) of the respondents are aware that these produce emissions of fine and ultra-fine particles that reach the deepest areas of the respiratory system.

Discussion

Despite the numerous scientific evidence showing that smoking represents the main risk factor for cancers and non-neoplastic respiratory diseases, to date in Italy and throughout the world, there are still many subjects with addiction to nicotine and other components of the tobacco. Furthermore, although the community is aware of the damage that smoking causes, a large part of it has a degree of awareness related to passive smoking deficient.

In many smokers there is a distortion of the self-image: a smoker of traditional cigarettes recognizes that he is a smoker, while an electronic cigarette smoker hardly recognizes himself as such. Finally, in Italy the Law n ° 3 of 16/01/2003-art.51 is in force. which pursues the primary purpose of "protecting the health of non-smokers"; nevertheless, many smokers continue to smoke indoors, even in the presence of children or pregnant women, regardless of the increased risk and damage resulting from the involuntary inhalation of carcinogenic substances and other toxic and harmful components for health.

Conclusions

The degree of awareness related to third-hand smoking appears to be still lacking today. Therefore, health education actions aimed at the entire community are necessary, as well as legislative measures to prohibit the use of electronic cigarettes in closed public environments