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GUTFELD: Beware Third-Hand Smoke and Junk Science  

So here's another example of how junk science has become even junkier than something really junky:

Researchers have identified "third-hand smoke," an invisible evil that acts like a deadly Ghost of Cigarettes Past: Polluting the air, killing innocent babies and ottomans -- even if they aren't present at the time.

As you can guess, this research is geared toward one end only: The banning of all smoking on private property -- including your home. . . .

But get this: After saying that a smoker's third-hand smoke is bad for babies, the researchers then note that for a smoker, breastfeeding a baby is still better than bottle-feeding. So after all this crap about poisoning the air, they're saying breast milk from a smoker is still better than milk from a bottle. Theoretically, a smoking mom that breastfeeds is a better mom, than a non-smoking bottle-feeder.

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• Children's Secondhand Smoke Exposure in Private Homes and Cars: An Ethical Analysis  

In response to the growing body of scientific literature linking SHS with serious diseases, many countries, states, and cities have established policies mandating smoke-free public spaces. Yet thousands of children remain unprotected from exposure to SHS in private homes and cars.

New initiatives targeting SHS in these spaces have raised ethical questions about imposing constraints on private behavior. We reviewed legislation and court cases related to such initiatives and used a principlist approach to analyze the ethical implications of policies banning smoking in private cars and homes in which children are present.

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A New Cigarette Hazard - ‘Third-Hand Smoke’ 

Doctors from MassGeneral Hospital for Children in Boston coined the term "third-hand smoke" to describe these chemicals in a new study that focused on the risks they pose to infants and children. The study was published in this month's issue of the journal Pediatrics. . . .

Dr. Philip Landrigan, a pediatrician who heads the Children's Environmental Health Center at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, said the phrase third-hand smoke is a brand-new term that has implications for behavior.

"The central message here is that simply closing the kitchen door to take a smoke is not protecting the kids from the effects of that smoke," he said. "There are carcinogens in this third-hand smoke, and they are a cancer risk for anybody of any age who comes into contact with them."

Among the substances in third-hand smoke are hydrogen cyanide, used in chemical weapons; butane, which is used in lighter fluid; toluene, found in paint thinners; arsenic; lead; carbon monoxide; and even polonium-210, the highly radioactive carcinogen that was used to murder former Russian spy Alexander V. Litvinenko in 2006. Eleven of the compounds are highly carcinogenic.

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• Beliefs About the Health Effects of "Thirdhand" Smoke and Home Smoking Bans  

RESULTS. Of 2000 eligible respondents contacted, 1510 (87%) completed surveys, 1478 (97.9%) answered all questions pertinent to this analysis, and 273 (18.9%) were smokers. Overall, 95.4% of nonsmokers versus 84.1% of smokers agreed that secondhand smoke harms the health of children, and 65.2% of nonsmokers versus 43.3% of smokers agreed that thirdhand smoke harms children. Strict rules prohibiting smoking in the home were more prevalent among nonsmokers: 88.4% vs 26.7%. In multivariate logistic regression, after controlling for certain variables, belief that thirdhand smoke harms the health of children remained independently associated with rules prohibiting smoking in the home. Belief that secondhand smoke harms the health of children was not independently associated with rules prohibiting smoking in the home and car.

CONCLUSIONS. This study demonstrates that beliefs about the health effects of thirdhand smoke are independently associated with home smoking bans. Emphasizing that thirdhand smoke harms the health of children may be an important element in encouraging home smoking bans.

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• Survey Highlights Beliefs About Children's Risks from 'Third-Hand Smoke'  

Action Points

* Explain to interested patients that it is well-known that second-hand smoke harms the health of children.

* Note that this study examined the behaviors associated with the belief that "third-hand smoke" -- toxins left on surfaces once tobacco smoke dissipates -- can also harm children's health.

* Explain the study found that fewer people are aware of the danger, but those who are were more likely to completely ban smoking in their home.

Such toxins are especially hazardous for children who breathe near the surfaces, crawl and play on them, or touch and mouth them, according to Jonathan Winickoff, M.D., of the Massachusetts General Hospital for Children, and colleagues.

Although most adults are aware of the danger of second-hand smoke for children, the risks of third-hand smoke are lesser known, Dr. Winickoff and colleagues said in the January issue of Pediatrics.

The conclusion is based on a nationally representative survey that examined beliefs about second- and third-hand smoke and behaviors derived from those beliefs, the researchers said.

The Social Climate Survey of Tobacco Control, an annual cross-sectional look at smoking, was given to 1,478 adults, reached by telephone, in November 2005. . . .

Primary source: Pediatrics Source reference: Winickoff JP, et al "Beliefs about the health effects of "thirdhand" smoke and home smoking bans"

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• Authority: No smoking with oxygen  

A fire in September that resulted in third-degree burns to a Fairview Hills resident has led the Altoona Housing Authority to formally prohibit smoking in rooms containing equipment for supplemental oxygen.

Several residents complained to Executive Director Cheryl Johns that the prohibition would be unfair, but none showed up at the recent meeting where the board adopted the policy.

The authority has the right to adopt the policy to protect itself from lawsuits, solicitor Bill Haberstroh said.

The Fairview Hills woman was smoking in bed while inhaling oxygen, with an ashtray on the mattress, according to city fire marshal Randy Isenberg. . . .

The authority evicted her after the fire, but several other residents who use supplemental oxygen continued to smoke in their apartments, according to Johns. . . .

The authority, which is writing the prohibition into leases, will evict violators immediately for one transgression.

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• Smoking ban idea snuffed at Centennial in Aspen  

A propertywide smoking ban at Centennial condominiums in Aspen went up in flames Tuesday after an overwhelming number of homeowners voted against the idea.

The “no” vote was so overwhelming, in fact, that the homeowners’ association board of directors didn’t even take an official count of the 22 people who attended the meeting and voted by a show of hands. Proxies also were sent in by homeowners who weren’t present, although it’s unknown how many were submitted.

But it was evident at the beginning of the annual homeowners meeting that the proxies wouldn’t garner the 66 and two-thirds vote needed by the 92 owners at Centennial, said Ed Cross, president of the homeowner’s association.

And of those who were present, including the nine-member board, about a half dozen voted in favor of a smoking ban.

The idea for a smoking ban at Centennial was prompted after two fires, blames on cigarettes, broke out there and at Castle Ridge Apartments, another Aspen affordable-housing complex. Residents began e-mailing Cross expressing concern for their safety, he said.

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• National Survey: Children Remain Especially Vulnerable to Secondhand Smoke, Despite Nation's Progress in Clean Indoor Air Policies  

Nearly half of all children in the United States are still exposed to secondhand smoke (SHS) each week, according to a new survey from the American Legacy Foundation®, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Julius B. Richmond Center of Excellence and researchers from Mississippi State University.

The groups say that while America has come a long way in changing the social perception of smoking in the past 10 years, children are still exposed to secondhand smoke at alarming rates, and they are encouraging parents who smoke to quit for good.

The Social Climate Survey of Tobacco found that 42 percent of children are exposed to SHS each week and there are public settings where children could be exposed that are still not smoke-free.

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Secondhand Smoke Boosts Asthmatic Boys' Behavior Woes  

Secondhand smoke in the home increases the risk of behavioral problems in boys with asthma, researchers report.

The study, by a team at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, included 220 boys and girls ages 6 to 12, with asthma.

For each doubling of secondhand smoke exposure, boys showed a twofold increase in behavioral problems such as hyperactivity, aggression, and depression.

The researchers found that secondhand smoke had no impact on girls, even though they were on average exposed to higher levels of tobacco smoke than boys. Additional research is needed to explain this gender difference, the researchers said.

The study was published online in the Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics.

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Rancho Cucamonga may tighten no-smoking rules  

Mayor Don Kurth said he believes someday, in a couple of decades perhaps, the country will be smoke-free. . . .

Kurth, a former smoker who is also a physician specializing in addiction medicine, appears to have the backing of his City Council colleagues on tightening restrictions on smoking.

The council is considering a smoking ban on many corners of the city, including restaurant patios and outdoor lines (such as at ATMs and movie theaters.)

The council also wants to tighten restrictions in apartments, hotels, transit stops and other areas.

Last week, the council asked staff to solicit public input about strengthening current smoking restrictions and draft a more stringent ordinance to be reviewed in the summer.

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• Law allows women to force partners to quit smoking  

In extreme situations, if the partners refuse to stop the habit, the law provides a legal remedy that would threaten the partners with imprisonment of up to 12 years.

Department of Social Welfare and Development Dulfie Shalim admitted that smoking is the least explored among other forms of violence against women. "Often, domestic violence is attributed to excessive drinking or substance abuse, smoking hardly comes up as a factor in cases of violence against women," she said.

The problem is women have been very tolerant

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Study strengthens link between tobacco smoke and behavioral problems in boys with asthma 

Boys with asthma who are exposed to environmental tobacco smoke have higher degrees of hyperactivity, aggression, depression and other behavioral problems, according to researchers at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.

In a study posted online ahead of print by the Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, the researchers said behavioral problems increase along with higher exposure levels, but they added even low levels of tobacco smoke may be detrimental to behavior.

"These findings should encourage us to make stronger efforts to prevent childhood exposure to tobacco smoke, especially among higher risk populations, such as children with asthma," said Kimberly Yolton, Ph.D., lead author of the study and a researcher at the Children's Environmental Health Center at Cincinnati Children's.

Interestingly, although girls in the study were on average exposed to higher levels of tobacco smoke than boys, the exposure did not lead to an increase in behavioral problems among them, investigators said. In boys, however, behavioral problems increased about two fold with each doubling in their tobacco smoke exposure, said Dr. Yolton.

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Environmental Tobacco Smoke Exposure and Child Behaviors. 

Conclusions: Among children with asthma, exposure to ETS is related to increased child behavior problems among boys.

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LETTER: Thank you for promoting smoke-free rental housing  

Congratulations to The Oregonian for helping Oregon residents find healthier living options! By including a search option on www.OregonLive.com to identify "smokefree" properties in its rental listings, The Oregonian is enabling today's renters to find what they want and need: clean air.

Apartment managers are increasingly adopting smokefree policies,

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• Council considers public-housing smoking ban 

A proposal to ban smoking in Hamilton's public housing is stirring debate about the right to smoke in the privacy of your home versus the right to clean air.

The city is preparing a report on banning smoking in all public housing buildings, as well as beaches and parks.

The report is expected in June 2009.

The proposed ban has raised questions about whether prohibiting smoking in private homes could be a violation of human rights.

John Fraser, a program director at the Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation in Toronto, said because people with lower incomes are overrepresented in the smoking population, imposing the ban could be construed as discrimination against low-income families.

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