Lungs

Thirdhand smoke irritates our respiratory system, increasing the risk of inflammation-induced diseases such as asthma, emphysema, bronchitis, and lung cancer. Emerging research suggests that exposure is genotoxic and carcinogenic at environmentally relevant doses. In vitro studies using cultured human lung cancer cells show that thirdhand smoke exposure induces DNA damage and increased lung cancer cell proliferation. RNA sequencing also shows endoplasmic reticulum stress and activated p53 signaling, both hallmarks of cancer.

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Hang, B., Wang, P., Zhao, Y., Chang, H., Mao, J. H., & Snijders, A. M. (2020). Thirdhand smoke: Genotoxicity and carcinogenic potential. Chronic Diseases and Translational Medicine, 6(1), 27–34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cdtm.2019.08.002

Hang, B., Wang, Y., Huang, Y., Wang, P., Langley, S. A., Bi, L., Sarker, A. H., Schick, S. F., Havel, C., Jacob, P., Benowitz, N., Destaillats, H., Tang, X., Xia, Y., Jen, K.-Y., Gundel, L. A., Mao, J.-H., & Snijders, A. M. (2018). Short-term early exposure to thirdhand cigarette smoke increases lung cancer incidence in mice. Clinical Science, 132(4), 475–488. https://doi.org/10.1042/cs20171521

Martins-Green, M., Adhami, N., Frankos, M., Valdez, M., Goodwin, B., Lyubovitsky, J., Dhall, S., Garcia, M., Egiebor, I., Martinez, B., Green, H. W., Havel, C., Yu, L., Liles, S., Matt, G., Destaillats, H., Sleiman, M., Gundel, L. A., Benowitz, N., … Curras-Collazo, M. (2014). Cigarette smoke toxins deposited on surfaces: Implications for human health. PLoS ONE, 9(1). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0086391