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Smoking is very dangerous for your health, and so is inhaling smoke indirectly, or passive smoking: we have known this for a long time.
But the dangers of smoking don't stop there: according to a recent study, simply being in contact with an object exposed to tobacco smoke affects our health.
Explanations.
The study in question, published in the journal Scientific Reports, highlights notable changes in test mice.
Indirect exposure ( third-hand smoke), meaning contact with tobacco smoke residue on any object (wall, furniture, curtains, doorknob, etc.), to which mouse pups were exposed for only three weeks, resulted in a change in their weight. Their weight was lower than that of pups that had not been exposed to this residue.
Researchers at the University of Berkeley also observed allergic and inflammatory reactions in both the exposed pups and adult mice. These reactions resulted in changes in the animals' blood composition .
It is important to note that, while the effect on weight was only temporary, the increase in white blood cells " persisted for 14 weeks after the end of exposure in newborns and two weeks after exposure in adults," explains Jian-Hua Mao, one of the study's authors.
According to Antoine Snijders, another author of the study, "indirect exposure is an underestimated health risk factor ." Further research, this time on humans, is needed to confirm this hypothesis and implement preventive measures.
Photo credit: Geralt – Pixabay
