Exposure to secondhand and thirdhand smoke in private vehicles: Measurements in air and dust samples

Citation

Continente X, Henderson E, López-González L, Fernández E, Tigova O, Semple S, O'Donnell R, Navas-Acién A, Cortés-Francisco N, Ramírez N, Dobson R & López MJ (2023) Exposure to secondhand and thirdhand smoke in private vehicles: Measurements in air and dust samples. Environmental Research, Art. No.: 116681. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2023.116681

Abstract
Background This study aimed to estimate airborne nicotine concentrations and nicotine, cotinine, and tobacco-specific nitrosamines (TSNAs) in settled dust from private cars in Spain and the UK. Methods We measured vapor-phase nicotine concentrations in a convenience sample of 45 private cars from Spain (N = 30) and the UK (N = 15) in 2017–2018. We recruited non-smoking drivers (n = 20), smoking drivers who do not smoke inside the car (n = 15), and smoking drivers who smoke inside (n = 10). Nicotine, cotinine, and three TSNAs (NNK, NNN, NNA) were also measured in settled dust in a random subsample (n = 20). We computed medians and interquartile ranges (IQR) of secondhand smoke (SHS) and thirdhand smoke (THS) compounds according to the drivers’ profile. Results 24-h samples yielded median airborne nicotine concentrations below the limit of quantification (

Keywords
Tobacco smoke pollution; Thirdhand smoke; Airborne nicotine; Dust; Tobacco-specific nitrosamines: Automobile

Journal
Environmental Research

People

Dr Rachel O'Donnell

Senior Research Fellow, Institute for Social Marketing

Professor Sean Semple

Professor, Institute for Social Marketing